Sun-Times file
Payroll fraud is pervasive in the construction industry in Illinois and the upper Midwest, costing taxpayers at a time of stressed state budgets, said a report from labor-supported research groups.
The report said 20% of construction workers in Illinois, about 52,000 people, suffer from payroll fraud, or what the researchers termed “wage theft.” Factoring in lost wages and benefits, the cost in state tax revenue was $186 million in 2018, researchers said.
“It’s a crime against every taxpayer. All are forced to pay more because of wage theft,” said Frank Manzo IV, policy director at the Illinois Economic Policy Institute. The group completed the research with an affiliate, the Midwest Economic Policy Institute, which included findings for Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Belleville News-Democrat Illustration Now hiring signs can be found at several fast-food places and small businesses throughout the St. Louis region as the minimum wage is set to increase on Jan. 1.
Editor’s note: This story was originally published by the Belleville News-Democrat, a news partner of St. Louis Public Radio.
Under a law signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker in February 2019, the minimum wage in Illinois increased in 2020 from $8.25 to $9.25 in January and then to $10 in July. This New Year, it will go up to $11.
The wage will increase by $1 each New Year until 2025 when it reaches $15 per hour. Before 2020, Illinois hadn’t seen a minimum wage increase since 2010 when it increased to $8.25.
WBGZ Radio 12/31/2020 |
By Kevin Bessler - Illinois Radio Network
With the new year, Illinois will see another minimum wage hike on Jan. 1.
The state’s minimum wage goes up to $11 for hourly workers, $6.60 for those who also earn tips, and youth workers get a bump up to $8.50.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation into law in 2019 which provides a path to a $15 minimum wage by 2025. Administration officials have said the extra money will pump up the economy after workers go out and spend their increased wages.
“We want people who are working at the lowest wages in our economy, the poorest working people in Illinois, we think they deserve a raise,” Pritzker said.
Illinois Department of Labor Reminds Workers to Watch Their Wages
Illinoisans will ring in the New Year with an additional increase in the minimum wage to $11 an hour, and the Illinois Department of Labor is encouraging employees to watch their paychecks to ensure that time worked in 2021 is paid at the new rate.
Governor JB Pritzker signed legislation into law in 2019 providing a path to a $15 minimum wage by 2025. Minimum wage earners received two increases in 2020 to $9.25 an hour on January 1 followed by an increase to $10 an hour on July 1. The minimum wage will continue to increase an additional $1 an hour each January 1 until it reaches $15 an hour in 2025.
Jan. 1 will ring in several new laws in Illinois although, because of the pandemic, significantly fewer than years past in addition to increasing the minimum wage employers can give their workers.
More than 250 new laws went into effect at the beginning of 2020. This coming year, there will be three.
Illinois lawmakers have been stymied by both COVID-19 restrictions on gatherings and also by existing laws. Because the Legislature cannot meet remotely, it was able to conduct business about four days this year.
That did give members the time to approve Senate Bill 667, which will cap many co-payments for prescription insulin at $100 for a 30-day supply, and House Bill 2818, which will provide the mechanism for victims of stalking or sexual assault to keep their addresses confidential. Also, House Bill 2708 will allow local law enforcement agencies to collect voluntary samples of DNA from the family members of missing people and submit them to the National Missing and Unidenti