Opponents say eliminating the tip credit will lead to decreased hours and layoffs for staff
•April 24, 2024•
By Cole Longcor
Capitol News Illinois
An Illinois House committee advanced a measure that would end the state’s subminimum wage for tipped workers amid bipartisan opposition this week, but the bill’s sponsor said she’d seek further compromise before presenting it for a vote.
Current Illinois law allows employers to pay their tipped workers 60 percent of the state’s minimum wage. That amounts to $8.40 hourly, compared to the minimum wage of $14 per hour. If their wages plus tips do not equal minimum wage, the employer must make up the difference. However, advocates say, employers don’t always do that.
House Bill 5345, sponsored by Rep. Elizabeth “Lisa” Hernandez, D-Cicero, would mandate that tipped workers are paid at least minimum wage, not including tips. She said the bill will eliminate “subminimum wage, not tips.”