Minimum Wages in Illinois

All employers are asked to pay their staff a minimum wage. It is defined as the least rate of working per hour by the employees. If somehow, a worker isn’t able to earn up to the minimum pay, he/she should clear the due amount to the respective entity. Different regions have locked state, local, or federal rules for the minimum wages, including Illinois. The fundamental cause behind fixing this lowest amount is such that a company/office can pay the right amount to its employees on time.

Let’s read the article below to know more about Illinois and its minimum set wages for employees.

Figure Out Illinois’s Minimum Wage in 2020

The general minimum wage rate for the federal department in Illinois was set to be 7.25 dollars per hour. Keeping this in mind, non-tipped workers above 18 years are getting a handsome wage rate of 10 dollars per hour by 1st July 2020. However, students and teenagers working to earn for themselves earn the least rate of 8 dollars/hour. According to a law in Illinois, if these under-eighteens serve their employers for almost 650 hours a year, they should be granted the same salary rate as workers above eighteen are getting. It was quite an impartial decision made by the respective government.

A Little History About Increasing the Minimum Wage Rate in Illinois

The House and Senate of Illinois passed a law in 2019, stating an increase in the wage rate to $15/hour by 2025. Later on, the government outlawed this statement after thoroughly evaluating workers and their performances in past years. It was not a good experience as the workers used to serve fewer hours and earn more up to $13/hour in 2016. Thus, the decision was reconsidered, and the minimum wage in Illinois now stands at the rate of $11 per hour.

Illinois Lawful Protection for Tipped Workers

An employee should clearly understand the rules and regulations behind getting tips on providing services. What should be the tipped amount paid by the employer? Should you contribute to handling the compensation or due payments of your working place? All these general questions are answered according to the laws of your respective state. Similar is the case with Illinois! The government has fixed some rules of paying the tipped amount to the employees working in Illinois. They are generally paid almost sixty percent of the actual minimum wage per hour. Let’s discuss in detail the key tips and legal protection provided by the Illinois government and federal state to the tipped workers.

The primary rule for getting tips is that it all belongs to the particular worker and not to the employer. Still, there are some exceptions found where a worker can share his tipped amount with other parties, such as:

Rules for Tip Credit: A few states give their employers a right to count their staff tips as wage pledges. It does not mean the employer is getting a portion of his employee’s tips, but he’s instantly paying that percentage to the respective person. It is called tip credit, and Illinois usually follows this step under basic tips rules.

Rules Regarding Tip Pool: According to a law in some states of Illinois, workers getting tipped should share a portion of that amount with other staff in the tip pool. This way, all employees can enjoy a part of the extra salary.

Illinois Dealing with Overtime Minimum Wage

An employee’s overtime salary considers being 1.5 percent of its actual minimum earning per hour. Hence, as per the current wage rate in Illinois, the overtime amount turns out to be 16.5 dollars/hour. Now, who is eligible to get this overtime amount? All those workers who spent their forty hours a week on work are authorized to receive this 1.5 times extra amount.

Exemptions of Employees to Get Overtime Wage Salary

As everyone struggles to earn more and more, the government of Illinois specified some workers who can acquire this facility. At the same time, they also exempted a few who are ineligible for this overtime minimum wage. A necessary list of these exceptions include:

• Some technical workers, such as engineers, software professionals, etc., get almost 27.63 dollars/hour.
• Some administrative by Fair Labor Standards Act
• Workers who serve in television or radio in an area with less than 100,000 people
• All the workers of state agencies or municipalities
• A few agricultural employees
• Employees who are commissioned by the Fair Labor Standards Act
• The staff of a few educational institutes who are facilitated by their own unit

Should Illinois Work on Increasing the Current Minimum Wage Rate?

The state should respect increasing its hourly rate with time, bearing in mind its current minimum wage rate. Almost 13 states offer a minimum salary of 10 dollars per hour or maybe higher than this. It counts to be approximately equal to Illinois’s minimum wage rate. If this region plans to raise its hourly income for its employees, it can significantly influence the overall economy, lessen the income’s injustice, and create tax returns.