SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) – Illinois' minimum wage will increase to $11 an hour starting Friday, Jan. 1.
Employees should remember to watch their paychecks to ensure that time worked in 2021 is paid at the new rate.
Governor JB Pritzker signed legislation into law in 2019, providing a path to a $15 minimum wage by 2025.Â
So far, in 2020, we have seen two increases in the minimum wage.
The first came in January of last year when the wage was raised to $9.25 an hour, followed by an increase to $10 an hour in July.Â
The minimum wage is set to increase an additional $1 an hour each Jan. 1 until it reaches $15 an hour in 2025.
Before the 2020 increases, the last time Illinois increased its minimum wage was in 2010 when it was raised to $8.25.
Currently, the city of Chicago's minimum wage is $13.50 an hour for small employers and $14 an hour for employers with 21 or more employees.
Under the new law, employers will maintain provisions by counting gratuities to offset wages for workers who regularly earn tips.Â
Tipped employees may be paid 60 percent of the hourly minimum wage.Â
These workers must still earn the minimum wage after receiving tips, or the employer must make up the difference.
Workers who are under 18 years old and work fewer than 650 hours in a year will earn a minimum wage of $8.50 per hour beginning Jan. 1.Â
The youth minimum wage rate will gradually rise to $13 an hour by 2025.
