The Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP), announced the scheduled annual increase in Chicago’s minimum wage, a scheduled enhancement of the Fair Workweek Ordinance requirements and the full establishment of the legal rights provisions of the Paid Leave and Paid Sick and Safe Leave Ordinance. These changes will go into effect July 1, 2026. To view informational flyers, Frequently Asked Questions, and public notices on Chicago’s labor laws, visit Chicago.gov/Labor Standards. Beginning July 1, 2026: 

• The minimum wage will be $17.05. 
  
• The minimum wage for subsidized youth employment programs and subsidized transitional employment programs has caught up to the full minimum wage for the first time ever and will be $17.05.

• Under the One Fair Wage Compromise Ordinance, the wages of tipped workers such as restaurant servers, bartenders, bussers and runners who earn a subminimum wage of $12.96 per hour will remain steady until the next scheduled increase on July 1, 2028.