Chicago, Ill. (February 19) – On Tuesday, February 19, 2019, Illinois’ new Democratic Governor, JB Pritzker, signed a law that will raise the state’s minimum wage from $8.25/hour to $15/hour over the next six years. The $15/hour minimum wage was one of the issues championed by Pritzker during his campaign. The action by the Governor was swift after the Democratic-run Illinois House passed the bill on February 14, 2019. 

The minimum wage is to increase based on the following schedule:

  • January 1, 2020 – $9.25/hour ($1.00 increase)
  • July 1, 2020 – $10.00/hour  ($0.75 increase)
  • January 1, 2021 – $11.00/hour ($1.00 increase)
  • January 1, 2022 – $12.00/hour ($1.00 increase)
  • January 1, 2023 – $13.00/hour ($1.00 increase)
  • January 1, 2024 – $14.00/hour ($1.00 increase)
  • January 1, 2025 – $15.00/hour ($1.00 increase)

The law substantially mirrors the minimum wage ordinances in effect in the City of Chicago and Cook County.

In addition to raising the minimum wage, the law increases penalties for Illinois employers who do not comply with the law. The law provides for a private right of action for employees who are paid less than minimum wage to sue their employers for triple the amount of the underpayment, plus five percent interest for every month in which the wages remain unpaid, plus attorney's fees. 

The law further provides that employers are subject to penalties of $1,500 payable to the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) for each violation of the state minimum wage law if the employer’s conduct is found to be “willful, repeated, or with reckless disregard” and $100 for each employee if an employer fails to maintain “true and accurate” payroll records. The IDOL is also authorized to randomly audit employers for compliance.

In a perceived effort to ease the burden on small businesses, the law provides that employers with 50 or fewer employees are entitled to claim a tax credit on the difference between an employee’s wage in the prior year and the increased wage each January 1. That credit, however, will be reduced by 4 percent each year until it is completely eliminated in 2026 for employers with six or more employees (2027 for employers with five employees or fewer).

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