Illinois Minimum Wage: Rates, Overtime, and Wage Claims

The Illinois minimum wage is $15 per hour for workers 18 and older, a rate that took effect January 1, 2025, and carries into 2026 unchanged. Tipped employees have a $9 base, and workers under 18 who haven’t yet worked 650 hours for the same employer in a calendar year earn $13. Illinois has no automatic inflation adjustment, so $15 stays until the legislature changes it.

Current Rates

Standard rate, 18 and older: $15 per hour
Tipped employees: $9 per hour, provided tips bring the total to at least $15
Workers under 18 with fewer than 650 hours for the same employer in the calendar year: $13 per hour

Once a worker under 18 passes 650 hours with the same employer in one calendar year, the full $15 rate applies for the rest of that year.¹ The $9 tipped rate only applies when the employee regularly receives more than $20 per month in tips, and if tips plus the base don’t reach $15 in a pay period, the employer must make up the difference.²

The federal minimum under the Fair Labor Standards Act is still $7.25, and when state and federal rates differ the worker gets the higher one.³ In Illinois that is always the state rate.

Chicago and Cook County

Chicago sets its own floor above the state rate. As of July 1, 2025, employers in the city with four or more workers must pay at least $16.60 per hour, with a tipped minimum of $12.62 and a youth rate of $16.50. Cook County outside Chicago matches the state at $15 and $9. If you work in Chicago or suburban Cook County, your employer owes whichever rate is higher.

Who the Law Covers

The Illinois Minimum Wage Law reaches most employees in the state. If your employer has four or more workers, not counting the owner’s immediate family, you’re entitled to at least the minimum wage whether you work full time or part time. Domestic workers including housekeepers, nannies, and home health aides are explicitly covered.⁴

The decisive question is whether you’re an employee or an independent contractor. The statute defines “employee” broadly as any individual permitted to work by an employer, and if a company controls when, where, and how you perform work, you’re likely an employee no matter what your contract calls you.⁵

Who the Law Doesn’t Cover

Several categories of workers fall outside the state minimum wage:

Employees of businesses with fewer than four workers, excluding the owner’s immediate family
Agricultural workers whose employer used 500 or fewer person-days of farm labor in any quarter of the previous year, and certain hand-harvest workers paid by the piece
Outside salespeople whose primary duties involve making sales away from the employer’s place of business
Students employed by the accredited Illinois college or university where they’re enrolled (federal FLSA may still apply)
Individuals working for a religious corporation or organization in a religious capacity⁶

Executive, administrative, and professional employees paid on a salary basis can also be exempt from both minimum wage and overtime. Under current federal rules, the salary must be at least $684 per week, or $35,568 per year, and the actual job duties must involve genuine management, specialized knowledge, or professional judgment.⁷ A job title alone doesn’t make someone exempt.⁸

Separately, employers can apply to the Illinois Department of Labor for a license to pay below the standard rate in two narrow situations: learners during an initial training period, and workers with physical or mental disabilities whose productive capacity is impaired. Without the license, paying below the minimum is a violation regardless of the worker’s circumstances.²

Overtime

Illinois requires overtime at one and a half times your regular rate for every hour worked beyond 40 in a workweek.² At the $15 rate, that is $22.50 per overtime hour. Salaried workers who don’t meet the white-collar exemption test are still entitled to overtime.

What Underpayment Costs the Employer

If you were paid less than the minimum wage, you can sue for three times the underpayment, plus attorney’s fees and court costs. On top of that, 5 percent of the shortfall accrues each month the wages remain unpaid, counting from the original pay date rather than from when you file.⁹ Older underpayments often carry substantial accumulated penalties for this reason.

The Illinois Department of Labor can also pursue the claim on your behalf. When the employer’s conduct was willful or showed reckless disregard, the department can add a penalty of up to 20 percent of the total underpayment, along with a flat $1,500 deposited into the state’s Wage Theft Enforcement Fund.⁹

How to File a Wage Claim

You can file a complaint with the wage claims division of the Illinois Department of Labor. Bring copies of paychecks, pay stubs, W-2s, 1099s, or any other documents showing the employer’s name and your rate of pay.¹⁰

The deadline to file with the department is one year from when the wages were due, though once a complaint is open the department can look back up to three years. You also have the option of skipping the department and filing a private lawsuit in court, with a three-year statute of limitations on civil actions, but you can’t pursue both routes for the same violation.⁹ For smaller underpayments the administrative route is faster and free. For larger claims where treble damages and attorney’s fees matter, a private lawsuit often makes more sense, and an employment attorney can help you weigh the choice.

Retaliation Is Illegal

Your employer cannot legally fire you, cut your hours, or otherwise punish you for raising a wage complaint, filing a claim with the Department of Labor, or testifying in a wage investigation. Doing so is a Class C misdemeanor under Illinois law.¹¹ The federal FLSA adds its own anti-retaliation protection, and most courts have held that even an informal oral complaint to your employer counts. Remedies can include reinstatement, back pay, and liquidated damages equal to the lost wages.¹² A retaliation claim after a firing often ends up worth more than the original wage shortfall that prompted the complaint.

1
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 820 ILCS 105/4
2
Illinois Department of Labor. Minimum Wage Law
3
U.S. Department of Labor. Wages and the Fair Labor Standards Act
4
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 820 ILCS 182 – Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Act
5
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 820 ILCS 105 – Minimum Wage Law
6
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 820 ILCS 105/3
7
U.S. Department of Labor. Earnings Thresholds for the Executive, Administrative, and Professional Exemptions
8
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 17A – Exemption for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Computer and Outside Sales Employees Under the Fair Labor Standards Act
9
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 820 ILCS 105/12
10
Illinois Department of Labor. Filing a Claim – FAQs
11
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 820 ILCS 115/14
12
U.S. Department of Labor. Fact Sheet 77A – Prohibiting Retaliation Under the Fair Labor Standards Act