The Chicago Department of Business Affairs & Consumer Protection (BACP) was designed to “license businesses and public vehicles, provide business education and access to resources, enforce the Municipal Code, and protect consumers from fraud,” which means that sometimes they have to create and enforce ordinances and regulations that are a bit arduous or challenging for small businesses. But in the public interest, we need to take a moment to review the annual changes and requirements to make sure we have everything in order. (Besides, the penalties for willful ignorance are no fun.)

With that in mind, here are some things you’ll need to make sure to take care of before ringing in the new year.

1. Illinois Department of Human Rights Sexual Harassment Training
   For the record, this one is state-mandated, not just city-wide. The Illinois Workplace Transparency Act requires all employers to comply with the sexual harassment prevention training by December 31, 2020, and thereafter must provide annual training to all employees.
   As of July 1, 2020, the Illinois Human Rights Act defines “employers” as those having one or more employees (replacing the prior threshold of 15 or more employees in Illinois for most types of discrimination). This means that every employer in Illinois must comply with this sexual harassment training requirement, for all employees working in Illinois, regardless of their status as part-time, intern, or temporary. There is no requirement to train independent contractors, though it is recommended.
   
   The Illinois Department of Human Rights provides the training for free (registration ends 24-hours before each class), or there are numerous commercial training options (as low as $25). They have an FAQ here, as well as details on minimum training for all employers, versus more comprehensive training for bars and restaurants.
   
2. Chicago Minimum Wage
   Back in 2014, the city implemented a gradual increase of the minimum wage. It applies to any employee who works at least two hours in any two-week period. As of July 1, 2022 the minimum wage in Chicago is $14.50 per hour for employers with 4 to 20 workers, and $15.40 per hour for employers with 21 or more workers. Tipped workers have a minimum wage of $8.70 for employers with 4 to 20 workers, and $9.24 for employers with 21 or more workers. If a tipped worker’s wages plus tips do not equal at least the full minimum wage, the employer must make up the difference. BACP offers a one-hour-long free webinar on the ordinance.
   
3. Chicago Paid Sick Leave
   This ordinance went into effect on July 1, 2017, and was so poorly-written that folks are still confused. It applies to any business or individual that employs at least one “employee” and has a facility within Chicago’s city limits (though Cook County followed suit a few months later and has a similar requirement). The term “employee” covers anyone who works at least 80 hours within a 120-day period (20 hours a month).
   – For hourly employees, paid sick leave accrues at one-hour for every 40 hours worked. Salaried-exempt employees are presumed to have worked 40 hours/week.
   – Employees are capped at accruing a total of 40 hours of sick leave each year, unless the employer opts to set a higher limit.
   – Employers must permit employees to carry over half of their accrued leave, to a maximum of 20 hours of unused sick leave each year (40 for employers with 50 or more employees).
   – Employers are not required to pay out any accrued but unused sick leave upon employment termination.
   
   What we’ve generally seen — given the stringent requirements and the way hours accrue — is that many employers with existing PTO policies have to get substantive revisions, as they often do not follow the same rules (even though they are often more generous). Failure to comply is costly, so we recommend having an HR professional experienced with the Chicago rules review your policy.
   
   BACP offers a one-hour-long free webinar on the ordinance.
   
4. Illinois Secure Choice Retirement Savings Plan
   State law now requires every Illinois employer with 16 or more employees to either offer their own retirement program, or to sign up to help staff contribute to personal IRAs via Secure Choice. As of November 1, 2023, this obligation will extend to employers with 5 or more employees.
   
   Aside from the administrative burden, there are no costs to small businesses owners. The program facilitates saving for retirement — but is still limited to the IRS’s annual $6000 cap ($1k higher for those 50 and up), increasing to $6,500 in 2023. (For those interested in a higher limit, I strongly recommend Guideline 401k plans for small businesses, which use low-cost Vanguard Admiral Shares — my own clients have the first five months of plan fees waived.)
   
   Our State Representative, Will Guzzardi, co-presented an excellent informational session recently, and his team graciously invited us to share the link and passcode with anyone interested in learning more:
   https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/GbU0vqXStnOYNsgxPg-1sUWGWWhWy_G_Wo6dbjjDOUhCdaK8FyNfyv7ySjH3Ggb7.L9WjeYo8OmJ6cQIg
   Passcode: Vd*Uqgn2
   The session is about 40 minutes long — feel free to skip the 5-min introduction if you’re pressed for time.
   
   (I’ll be providing a breakdown and analysis of the plan and the info-session in an upcoming blog post. Spoiler alert: I’m mostly pretty happy with this legislation! –This doesn’t happen often.– However, most sole proprietors will want to make sure to implement their own savings plan simultaneously, since they won’t be eligible to participate; and many others will prefer the 401k approach due to higher limits.)
   
5. State Unemployment Insurance Contribution Determination Rate
   If you have employees, you should normally have received a letter from IDES with your 2023 unemployment rate determination by now, but they are running behind and the letters won’t be posted on mytax.illinois.gov until January 5th, 2023. As soon as they do, you will need to update your payroll company’s records with the new unemployment tax rate, or it can cause expensive problems with reporting and reconciliations in the future. I wrote a blog on how to do this if you’re using Gusto for payroll.
   
   
   HAPPY NEW YEAR, CHICAGO SMALL BUSINESSES:
   WE WOULDN’T BE A WORLD-CLASS CITY WITHOUT YOU!

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