Toolkit for Businesses on Vaccine Requirements; Minimum Wage Reminders

Chicago, Cook County Vaccine Requirements Now in Effect - Toolkit for Businesses and Employers

Starting today, Monday, January 3, the city of Chicago and Cook County's vaccine requirements for indoor dining are in effect.

The city of Chicago has developed a Toolkit for Businesses and Employers that includes a policy overview, accepted documents, checklists, signage, and helpful links and resources. Click here to view the toolkit.

If a customer does not have their vaccination card available, they can access their immunization records by visiting the state of Illinois Vax Verify portal.

Click here to visit the Chicago Vaccine Requirement webpage, with FAQs, required signage, vaccination locations, and more. Click here to download the FAQs.

Information on Cook County's vaccine requirements, which align with the city of Chicago's, can be found here.

Reminder - State of Illinois Minimum Wage and Tipped Wage, Cook County Tipped Wage Increases

Effective January 1, 2022, the new minimum wage and tipped wage rates for the state of Illinois are as follows:

• Minimum wage rate - $12.00/hour
• Tipped wage rate - $7.20/hour

Click here to review the current and upcoming wage rates for the state of Illinois.

Additionally, the tipped wage in Cook County (which is currently tied to the state of Illinois' tipped wage rate) has increased accordingly with the state as of January 1, 2022. The tipped wage rate in Cook County is now $7.20/hour, and the minimum wage rate in Cook County remains $13.00/hr.

Click here to review Cook County's minimum wage law.

National Restaurant Association Calls for RRF Replenishment on Fox News

Last week, Sean Kennedy, EVP of Public Affairs at the National Restaurant Association, called on Congress to replenish the Restaurant Revitalization Fund during an interview on Fox News. Noting that the restaurant industry was the first to shut down and the last to fully recover, Kennedy said, “We’re at month 20 right now, and we need a long-term solution.”

Underscoring the importance of quick action Kennedy continued, “There are three things restaurants need to keep their doors open. We need customer demand, a workforce to meet that demand, and we need rational and steady wholesale food prices. We can crawl if we only have two of them, we can’t get by without one, and right now we don’t have any.”

Click here to watch the segment.