SUBSTITUTE ORDINANCE
WHEREAS, The City of Chicago has worked tirelessly for over a year to help businesses and workers survive the most devastating pandemic in a century; and
WHEREAS, Chicago's businesses and workers persevered through the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis to provide critical services to City residents and to keep Chicagoans safe; and
WHEREAS, The City executed an array of robust emergency relief measures to provide businesses with much-needed financial support and regulatory relief during this uniquely challenging time in its history; and
WHEREAS, The City's emergency relief measures and other significant worker protection ordinances include the COVID-19 Anti-Retaliation Ordinance prohibiting employers from retaliating against employees for obeying a health order to quarantine or isolate; the Vaccine Anti-Retaliation Ordinance prohibiting employers from retaliating against workers for taking time off to receive the COVID-19 vaccine; the Chicago Minimum Wage and Paid Sick Leave Ordinance putting the minimum wage on a path to $15-an-hourfor some workers in 2021 and ensuring that workers have access to paid sick leave; and the Chicago Fair Workweek Ordinance requiring fair, equitable and predictable employer scheduling practices and mandating extra pay for last minute work schedule changes; and
WHEREAS, The Office of Labor Standards received 728 complaints, opened 214 investigations, cited 50 employers, and levied $170,500 in fines in 2020 for non-compliance with the City's worker protection laws; and
WHEREAS, With a robust COVID-19 vaccination program now underway, the City's focus must now shift from economic survival to economic recovery; and
WHEREAS, The Chi Biz Strong Initiative ("Initiative") is a bold plan to jumpstart business growth, protect workers, and set the marketplace on a path towards a strong, rapid, equitable, and long-lasting economic recovery; and
WHEREAS, This Initiative will establish the City's first-ever Wage Theft Ordinance...
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