Chicago’s Minimum Wage Increases to US$16.20 an Hour

Starting July 1, Chicago workers now receive a minimum wage of US$16.20 an hour, in accordance with the implementation of the Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance.

Last week, Chicago’s hourly minimum wage increased from $15.80 to $16.20 for employers with 21 or more employees and from $15 to $16.20 for employers with 20 or fewer employees—removing the tiered wages for large and small businesses.

Additionally, Chicago has started the first phase of cutting out tipped wages for workers. Wages of tipped workers, such as restaurant servers, bartenders, and bussers, who currently earn an hourly minimum wage of $11.02, will see a yearly increase of 8% until it reaches parity with the city’s standard minimum wage on July 1, 2028, NBC 5 Chicago reported.

Also on July 1, Chicago enacted the Fair Workweek Ordinance. The ordinance requires certain employers, such as building services, healthcare, hotels, manufacturing, and restaurants, to provide workers with “predictable work schedules and compensation for changes.”

The Chicago Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave ordinance offers all Chicago workers, who work at least 80 hours within any 120-day period, up to five days of paid leave and five days of paid sick leave guaranteed.

According to The Street, Tukwila, Washington, has the highest municipal minimum wage at $20.29 for companies with more than 500 employees, while Washington, D.C., has the highest state/territory minimum at $17. In California, though, fast-food workers must be paid at least $20 per hour.