Chicago has not enacted a grocery-worker-specific minimum wage. The general Chicago Minimum Wage Ordinance MCC 1-24 covers all sectors uniformly, while the LA grocery-wage and pandemic-premium-pay model has no equivalent in Illinois.
Chicago's Minimum Wage Ordinance MCC 1-24-020 sets a single citywide floor for all employers, $16.20 per hour for large employers as of July 2025 with annual CPI adjustments. Unlike Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Seattle, Chicago has not enacted any sector-specific wage premium for grocery workers, hotel workers, or healthcare workers, nor did Chicago adopt hazard-pay legislation during COVID-19. The Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act applies statewide. Several aldermen explored a Hotel Living Wage and Grocery Worker Hazard Pay measure in 2021; both stalled without committee passage. Federal Service Contract Act and Davis-Bacon prevailing-wage rules cover narrow public-contract categories but not retail grocery employment.
Underpaying grocery employees triggers standard MCC 1-24-100 fines of $500 to $1,000 per offense per employee plus restitution, but there is no grocery-specific premium to enforce. Standard wage-theft remedies through the Office of Labor Standards apply.
See how Chicago's grocery worker wage rules stack up against other locations.
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