Illinois Minimum Wage Increase 2009

June 10th, 2009 Posted by Derrick

On July 1, 2009 the Illinois minimum wage will increase from $7.75 to $8.00 per hour.

 

Many employers complain that this puts the Illinois minimum wage the highest in the nation – but they are very wrong. In fact, the new rate puts Illinois in a four-way tie for the fourth highest minimum wage, with California, Massachusetts, and Connecticut.

 

The nation’s highest minimum wage is in Washington, at $8.55 per hour. The second highest minimum wage is in Oregon, at $8.40 per hour.  The Vermont minimum wage is currently $8.06 per hour. All three of those states – unlike Illinois – have annual cost-of-living increases.

 

On July 1, the Illinois minimum wage will become $8 an hour, a boost of 25 cents from the previous hourly rate of $7.75.

 

Minimum wage increases come on July 1 of the year in Illinois, while the federal rate changes on July 24. The 2009 federal minimum wage increase to $7.25 per hour

 

In 2010, the Illinois rate goes up another 25 cents an hour, bringing it to $8.25.

 

In 2003, the minimum wage in Illinois went from $5.15 to $5.50 an hour, effective in 2004, an increase of 35 cents an hour. Following that increase, the rate went to $6.50 an hour in a law that included annual 25-cent increases through 2010.

 

The Illinois Department of Labor has estimated that about 650,000 workers will benefit from the increase in the minimum wage.

 

Several categories of worker are not covered by the minimum wage law in Illinois. Tipped workers, for example, need not be paid the regular minimum. In Illinois, employees working for tips may legally be paid just $4.80 an hour beginning July 1, 2009. This is a 15-cent increase from the previous tipped rate of $4.65 per hour.

 

There is also a reduced Illinois minimum wage for workers new to the job. According to state law, they may be paid a training wage of $7.25 an hour for their first 90 days. Another category is the worker under 18 years old, who need not be paid the minimum wage.

 

Illinois’ minimum wage increases have garnered the praise of Beatrice Jackson, President of ACORN (the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now). “For thousands of working families who live on the brink of poverty, the increase in Illinois’ minimum wage will help workers afford basic necessities that so many of us take for granted, like food, clothing, housing and education,” she said.

 

The now-infamous former Governor, Rod Blagojevich, who was later indicted on federal corruption charges, said he was “proud that in Illinois we’ve kept our promise” to help working people.

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  1. Posted by: debbie

    a friend of ours works for a stable and works off her board for $7.00 a hour
    and i told her that min is $7.75 an hour and she mentions this to the barn and they told her this was the bartering system. Is this legal.

    board is $500 a month

    what ever hours she works they x’s that by $7.00

    and what ever the difference is they pay.

  2. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi debbie! You’re right — the Illinois minimum wage is $7.75 per hour, and on July 1, 2009 it will increase to $8.00 per hour.
    Your friend’s employer would be right about the barter system, if they never paid her any cash. They could enter into a private arrangement where your friend always worked exactly 71.5 hours per month (or 100 hours, or whatever) in return for them boarding her horse.
    However, when the stable owner starts paying your friend the difference in cash, they have become an employer. It is no longer barter.
    In Illinois as in many states, the minimum wage does not apply to some agricultural employers. Your friend should check with the Illinois Department of Labor to see if she is entitled to the state minimum wage in this case. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

  3. Posted by: debbie

    money was never pd to the person doing the work at the barn, but money was pd to the barn for the difference in what they owed for the stall fee

  4. Posted by: Debbie

    Amelia

    What i need to know is if her daughter paid for any part of the board out of her pocket because there only so many hours she could work for the month, is this still bartering system.

  5. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi again Debbie! Yes, this is still the barter system if the daughter pays part of the horse’s boarding fees in cash.
    Suppose the usual price for boarding a horse for a month is $500. The daughter agrees to pay $250 in cash and to work 35.7 hours per month for the remainder of the fee. Again, the daughter is probably not an employee under this arrangement, and the minimum wage might not apply anyway.
    What concerns us more is that the daughter is not covered under workers comp, because she is not an employee. So if she were injured while doing this work, she would not be entitled to medical treatment. We agree that this is a bad situation — but it may not be a violation of the state minimum wage law. If you feel that it is, you can certainly report it to the Illinois Department of Labor. They will investigate and if the employer is in violation, force him or her to comply. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

  6. Posted by: Kathleen

    If Minimum Wage increases is the middle of a pay period is the employer required to pay you the increase for the whole pay period or can they pay you the lower rate for the whole period, or do they pay you the lower rate for part and the higher rate starting when it went up?
    For example, Our last pay period was June 22nd through July 5th. Can the employer pay the old lower rate for that whole period, or must they pay the higher rate for all of the hours worked beginnning July 1st.

  7. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi Kathleen! The employer is required to start paying the new minimum wage at one minute past midnight on the morning of July 1, 2009. Hours in the payroll period worked before that time may be at the old rate of $7.75 per hour. Hours worked after that time must be at the new Illinois minimum wage of $8.00 per hour. Any employer who pays the lower minimum wage for the entire payroll period is in violation of the state minimum wage law. Any employer who pays the higher minimum wage for the entire payroll period is probably just dumb.
    In some cases, when an employee works an overnight shift, the employer may choose to pay the higher minimum wage for the entire shift to make processing payroll easier — but there is no requirement that they must do so. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

  8. Posted by: ROSARiO

    When my mom first started working..they payed her $5.15 an hour..She started working in the year 2000..Then they pay her $7.75 or something like that and she wanted to know when they’re gonna stop raising the salary..She’s not saying its bad she wants it to keep raising but when are they gonna stop raising only one quarter. Like in 2013..are they still goona be raising it a quarter or more..She said she heard from somebody that they were goona raise the minimium wage a dollar not a quarter..So she wants to know if they’re gonna keep raising it.

  9. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi Rosario! There are no plans to raise the Illinois minimum wage by more than 25 cents at a time. Since 2004, the Illinois minimum wage has increased by $2.50 per hour — but as you know, that increase has not occurred all at once. That is because a larger increase at one time is too much of a burden on the business owners. As you know, on July 1, 2009 the Illinois minimum wage increased by 25 cents to $8.00 per hour. That means 43 states have minimum wages lower than Illinois. The next scheduled increase in the Illinois minimum wage is on July 1, 2010 when it will go up another 25 cents, to $8.25 per hour. That is the last scheduled increase under the current law. At that point, only 2 or 3 states will have higher minimum wages than Illinois does.
    That means at this point, there are no plans for minimum wage increases in 2011, 2012 or 2013 in Illinois.
    Your mother’s friend is probably referring to a “living minimum wage” of $10 per hour or more. The “living minimum wage” meansa minimum wage that is high enough for a person to live on, when working 40 hours per week. It has been debated several times within the city of Chicago. However, it has never been passed, and at this point it is unlikely to be passed.
    We always offer the same suggestions to anyone who is working for minimum wage. The best way to earn more, is to increase your skills. This might include English lessons (which are free at some churches) or attending a trade school or university. The minimum wage was never meant to pay enough to support a family, and in many cases it’s impossible for even one person to live on. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

  10. Posted by: Michelle

    I have working the same job for 9 years. 2 years ago I made $2.00 more an hour than the rest of new hires. Due to the wage increase I make a whopping 50 cents more than them. Can an employer just leave us out?

  11. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi Michelle! Unfortunately, yes. Many people don’t realize it, but when the minimum wage increases, there is no law that workers who are earning more than the minimum wage must receive a raise — ever. In fact, this happens at a lot of companies. The owner or manager has a set budget for payroll — perhaps $2,000 or $4,000 per year. When the owner must pay more to minimum wage workers, one way to stay within the budget is to pay less to workers who already earn more than the minimum wage — or to not give them raises. Sorry, wish we had better news. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

  12. Posted by: Helen

    My husband and I have just bought a non-medical home care company which is licensed in the State of Illinois. We want to pay our caregivers fairly and, as we have had requests for 24 hour (live in service) I would like to know how many 24 hour shifts our caregivers can work before we have to pay overtime. As you can imagine that would be cost prohibitive for the client and for us.
    I have attempted to find out the answer by asking other franchise owners in the area, but they appear to under pay their caregivers by breaking down the 24 hour shift to 13 working hours, (off time etc). I don’t feel comfortable with that at all. Our caregivers often get up through the night and I want them compensated.
    You can see my quandry, I’m sure. I look forward to your answer.
    Helen

  13. Posted by: Amelia

    Hi Helen! That’s a more complex question than we can address in the comments section here. Please post it as a question on our sister site at http://www.humanresourceblog.com, for a complete answer. HTH, and thanks for reading the blogs!~ Amelia

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