GENERAL EMPLOYMENT REQUIREMENTS

Municipal Code of Chicago tit. 6, art. II, ch. 6-100

in effect

Municipal Code of Chicago § 6-100-010 Definitions.

6-100-010 Definitions. For purposes of this Article II, the following definitions apply: "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection or the Commissioner's designee. "CPI" means the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers most recently published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor. "Department" means the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection. “Domestic Worker” means a person whose primary duties include housekeeping; house cleaning; home management; nanny services, including childcare and child monitoring; caregiving, personal care or home health services for elderly persons or persons with illnesses, injuries, or disabilities who require assistance in caring for themselves; laundering; cooking; companion services; chauffeuring; and other household services to members of households or their guests in or about a private home or residence, or any other location where the domestic work is performed. "Family member" means an individual's child, ward, legal guardian, parent, spouse under the laws of any state, domestic partner, spouse or domestic partner's parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, or any other individual related by blood or whose close association with the individual is the equivalent of a family relationship. A child includes not only a biological relationship, but also a relationship resulting from an adoption, step-relationship, or foster care relationship, or a child to whom the individual stands in loco parentis. A parent includes a biological, foster, step-parent or adoptive parent or legal guardian of an individual, or a person who stood in loco parentis when the individual was a minor child. "Gender-affirming care" shall have the meaning ascribed to that term in Section 6-20-020. "Reproductive health care" shall have the meaning ascribed to that term in Section 6-20-020. "Wage" means compensation due to worker by reason of employment. (Added Coun. J. 12-15-21, p. 42668, § 2; Amend Coun. J. 4-27-22, p. 46382, § 13; Amend Coun. J. 1-18-23, p. 59661, § 4; Amend Coun. J. 11-9-23, p. 5853, § 5; Amend Coun. J. 3-20-24, p. 10146, § 5) Editor's note – Former § 6-100-010, pertaining to procedures for payment of wages, renumbered as § 6-105-015.

Municipal Code of Chicago § 6-100-020 Violation - Penalty.

6-100-020 Violation - Penalty. (a) Any violation of this article which does not state a penalty shall be punishable by a fine of not less than $500.00 nor more than $1,000.00 for each offense. Each violation of this article shall constitute a separate offense. (b) Any violation of this article may also result in an adjudicator ordering relief as may be deemed necessary. Relief may include, but is not limited to, an order: to cease the illegal conduct complained of; to pay actual damages for injury or loss suffered by the worker; to pay appropriate punitive damages when the violator acted with actual malice, willfully, or with such gross negligence as to indicate a wanton disregard of the worker's rights; to hire, reinstate, or upgrade the worker with or without back pay or provide such fringe benefits as the worker may have been denied; to take such action as may be necessary to make the worker whole, including, but not limited to, awards of interest on the worker's actual damages and back pay from the date of the violation. These remedies shall be cumulative, and in addition to any fines imposed. (Added Coun. J. 6-25-21, p. 32156, § 5; Amend Coun. J. 12-15-21, p. 42668, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 4-27-22, p. 46382, § 13; Amend Coun. J. 11-7-22, p. 54948, Art. II, § 2) Editor's note – Former § 6-100-020, pertaining to contracts for domestic workers, renumbered as § 6-120-020.

Municipal Code of Chicago § 6-100-030 Retaliation prohibited.

6-100-030 Retaliation prohibited. (a) It shall be unlawful for any employer to discriminate in any manner or take any adverse action against any individual in retaliation for exercising any right under this article, including, but not limited to, disclosing, reporting, or testifying about any violation of this article or rules promulgated thereunder. Prohibited adverse actions include, but are not limited to, unjustified termination, unjustified denial of promotion, unjustified negative evaluations, punitive schedule changes, punitive decreases in the desirability of work assignments, and other acts of harassment shown to be linked to such exercise of rights. (b) A violation of this section shall result in a fine of not less than $1,000.00 and not more than $1,500.00 in addition to any other fines or relief. (Added Coun. J. 12-15-21, p. 42668, § 5; Amend Coun. J. 4-27-22, p. 46382, § 13; Amend Coun. J. 12-20-25, p. 39283, Art. II, § 3)

Municipal Code of Chicago § 6-100-040 Notice and posting.

6-100-040 Notice and posting. (a) The Commissioner has the duty and authority to enforce the notice and posting requirements imposed by Section 6-10-040(b) and (d) and Article II of Title 6. (b) If an employer has employment policies, and if the employer has workers whose regular work duties take place within the geographical boundaries of Chicago, then the employer shall provide those workers with its employment policies. Employers shall provide workers with a 14-day notice of changes to employment policies. An employer shall provide its employment policy to its workers in the primary language of each of its workers. (Added Coun. J. 4-27-22, p. 46382, § 23; Amend Coun. J. 11-9-23, p. 5853, § 6; Amend Coun. J. 12-13-23, p. 7601, § 2; Amend Coun. J. 3-20-24, p. 10146, § 6)

Municipal Code of Chicago § 6-100-050 Wage theft.

6-100-050 Wage theft. (a) Any employer who fails to timely pay a worker in accordance with this Article II of Title 6, or in accordance with any wage agreement between the employer and the worker above the threshold required by this Article II, shall have committed wage theft. (1) Wage theft includes the non-payment of any wages required for work performed, and also includes not granting or properly paying required paid time off, whether legislatively or contractually required, and contractually required benefits to the worker. (2) The timely payment of wages shall be in accordance with 820 ILCS 115/4. (b) A worker may file a claim with the Office of Labor Standards or in a civil action, but not both. A worker who files a claim with the Illinois Department of Labor may not also file a claim with the Office of Labor Standards unless the Illinois Department of Labor has referred the case to the Office of Labor Standards. (c) An employer shall be liable to a worker for the amount of any underpayments and shall also be liable for damages of either (i) 2% of the amount of any such underpayments for each month following the date of payment during which such underpayments remain unpaid or (ii) the amount specified by the Illinois Wage Payment and Collection Act, 820 ILCS 115/14(a), if the amount in the state law is greater. (Added Coun. J. 6-25-21, p. 32156, § 5; Amend Coun. J. 12-13-23, p. 7601, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 7-17-24, p. 14211, § 1)

Source: City of Chicago, Municipal Code of Chicago (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/chicago/latest/chicago_il/0-0-0-2639750Fetched: 10/24/2026