Chicago's Minimum Wage Ready To Jump Higher Than $15 Per Hour

CHICAGO — Chicago residents holding down jobs in the city will see more money in their paycheck starting on Friday when the city’s minimum wage will move past $15 an hour for the first time.

The city’s minimum wage will jump to $15.40 per hour from $15 in terms of many jobs although the increase will not carry over to everyone.

Chicago’s Minimum Wage municipal code calls for the amount to increase on July 1 of every year. Last year, the minimum wage in the city jumped from $14 to $15 for many workers and will jump by a maximum of 2.5 percent every year after, the law says.

The yearly increase is based on the Consumer Price Index or 2.5 percent, whichever is higher. The only way the minimum wage won’t go up for employers who have more than 21 employees is if Chicago’s unemployment rate is 8.5 percent or higher, the code stipulates.

Chicago’s minimum wage is already $3 higher than in Illinois, where the minimum wage remains at $12 per hour. The federal rate, which hasn’t increased since 2009, remains at $7.25 per hour.

For workers laboring at companies that have anywhere from four to 20 employees, the minimum wage will jump from $14 an hour to $14.50.

The other exception to the $15.40 rate is employees who work on tips. For those workers who are employed by places considered large employers, the minimum wage sits at $9.24 per hour while medium-sized employers must pay their tipped workers $8.70 per hour.

Workers under the age of 18 will also see a bump in pay starting on Friday and will be paid $12 per hour rather than $11.

The Chicago Tribune reported that Friday’s hike in minimum wage will affect some 400,000 people.