Elmwood Park trustees on March 20 opted out of new Cook County minimum wage hike and paid sick leave time requirements, maintaining compliance could place the village at a competitive disadvantage.
To adopt the new standards “would put a burden on doing business in Elmwood Park,” said Village Manager Paul Volpe, following the board’s adoption of an ordinance opting out of the Cook County laws. Most local businesses are already complying with the standards, said Volpe, but ultimately “we believe — the board obviously believes — it’s a choice that business owners should make.”
The village was responding to new laws passed by the Cook County Board last October, related to paid sick time and minimum wage. The minimum wage would be increased to $10 an hour, set to go into effect July 1. The first law adopted by the county allows employees, with few exceptions, to accrue up to five days of paid sick time for each year, Volpe said in his report to the board. The second increases the minimum wage, in increments, to $13 per hour by 2020, he noted.
Exercising their home rule powers, trustees voted to opt out, maintaining that minimum wage laws and paid sick time are best set by the state and federal governments “instead of a disjointed patchwork approach,” the village said in a release.
Officials said that businesses require flexibility to compensate employees as they see necessary to respond to the market and maintain competitive advantages.
“The village board has worked tirelessly to attract new large and small businesses in recent years,” officials said in their release, “and is currently on the path to complete a much-anticipated streetscape in the Circle business district. The newly designed sidewalks, lighting, pedestrian crossings and benches are aimed at boosting foot traffic and bringing in more business investment. The village has had similar success with this approach along Grand and Harlem [avenues], as well as portions of North Avenue and Harlem Avenue.”
Volpe pointed out adopting the laws could create inconsistencies, using Angelo Caputo’s Fresh Markets, with a store at 2400 N. Harlem Ave. in the village, as an example.
“They operate businesses both in Cook County and outside Cook County,” forcing them to have one pay system in Cook County and another outside, he said. “It’s hard enough to attract businesses as it is,” he said of the mandate.
