On October 26, 2016, the Cook County Board of Commissioners passed an ordinance increasing the minimum wage in suburban Cook County. It is a tiered increase that will begin on July 1, 2017, and will increase by a dollar each year until 2020. After 2020, the increases will adjust with the rate of inflation. Thus, the minimum wage will increase according to the following schedule:
- An initial increase to $10 an hour effective July 1, 2017;
- $11 an hour in July 2018;
- $12 an hour in July 2019; and
- $13 an hour by July 2020.
After July of 2020, subsequent annual increases will be based on the rate of inflation (but not to exceed 2.5 percent). The ordinance also states that if the state or federal minimum wage were to exceed these increases, the higher rate would prevail.
The ordinance also provides an increase for tipped workers earning less than $4.95 an hour. In Illinois, tipped workers are legally paid less than minimum wage by their employers. The difference is then supposed to be made up by the tips the workers receive from customers. However, when a tipped worker fails to meet the minimum wage threshold after accounting for tips, the employer must still pick up the difference. While these workers will not receive the same increase, they will receive an increase equal to the rate of inflation beginning in July of 2018.
The ordinance applies to all unincorporated and suburban areas of Cook County, but home rule communities may vote to opt out of minimum wage increases. Critics maintain that permitting specific city and county ordinances creates competitive disadvantages across business communities. The fear is that municipalities will create minimum wage “deserts” that can draw in businesses at the expense of neighboring towns and employees, effectively nullifying the ordinance. Instead, these critics believe that the better solution is a statewide minimum wage increase to ensure fair competition across the state. However, similar measures have languished in the General Assembly since 2009 and are unlikely to pass in the current political climate.
In contrast to the General Assembly, in 2014, the City of Chicago approved a minimum wage increase to $13 an hour by 2019. For non-tipped workers, minimum wage was increased to $10 an hour in July 2015 and then to $10.50 an hour in July 2016. It will continue to rise by $1.00 each July until it reaches $13 an hour in July of 2019. The City of Chicago’s minimum wage will also increase with the rate of inflation, but again will not exceed 2.5 percent, provided that the City’s unemployment rate from the previous year is less than 8.5 percent. Unlike Cook County’s ordinance, however, the City of Chicago’s ordinance does not include any increase for tipped workers. To ensure your compliance with Cook County’s new wage ordinances, contact the professionals at Rock Fusco & Connelly, LLC.