This wage and hour Law Firm Publication by Fisher & Phillips LLP addresses the unanimous passage of the Cook County Wage Theft Ordinance. Under the ordinance, an employer is ineligible to enter into a county contract, submit a bid to the county or respond to a request for proposal if it was held liable (judicially or administratively) for a willful or repeated violation of federal or state wage payment laws within the prior five years, or admitted to the same. Anyone seeking to contract with Cook County or request tax incentives from the County Assessor must attest under oath that they have not committed such violations within the prior five years. If an employer's wage payment violations during that period are discovered, the Chief Procurement Officer may issue a notice of default under the employer's existing contracts and unless cured within 45 days, the County Assessor may deny or revoke tax incentives. A business is not required to voluntarily disclose violations occurring after it has received a tax incentive. Businesses in Cook County must have a two-year business license, which can be denied or revoked if the business has committed two wage violations within the past five years.