Chicago has no hotel-specific living wage like Los Angeles. General minimum wage under MCC 1-24 reaches $16.20 per hour for large employers as of July 2024, indexed annually. Tipped hotel workers receive a separate, lower base wage plus tips under the same ordinance.
Unlike Los Angeles' LAMC 186.02, which sets a separate wage of $20.32 per hour rising to $30 by 2028 for hotel workers at properties with 60-plus rooms, Chicago has no industry-specific hotel wage floor. Chicago's general Minimum Wage Ordinance MCC 1-24 covers all employers operating in the city: $16.20 per hour for large employers (21-plus workers) effective July 1, 2024, and $16.20 (rising) for smaller employers, indexed annually each July to inflation. Tipped employees receive a separate minimum cash wage of approximately $11.02 per hour plus tips, with employer make-up if tips fall short. The Office of Labor Standards in BACP enforces. Cook County minimum wage ($14.05) applies in suburbs; Illinois minimum is $14.
Underpayment exposes employers to back wages, treble damages, civil penalties up to $1,000 per offense, retaliation penalties, and possible business license revocation under MCC 1-24-110.
Chicago, IL
Chicago sets its own minimum wage under MCC Ch. 1-24, reaching $16.20 per hour in July 2024 with annual CPI indexing. The rate exceeds Illinois's state floor...
Chicago, IL
Chicago's Hotel Workers Sexual Harassment Ordinance MCC 4-6-180 requires panic buttons and anti-harassment training for hotel housekeepers but does not manda...
See how Chicago's hotel living wage rules stack up against other locations.
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