As we ring in the new year, Ohio's minimum wage begins its scheduled increase as of January 1, 2024. In 2006, Ohio voters passed Constitutional Amendment 11-34a, which increases Ohio's minimum wage by the rate of inflation each year on January 1. Currently, 30 states and Washington D.C. have minimum wages above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
This year, inflation increased by 3.7%, and Ohio's new minimum wage requirements have increased to $10.45 per hour for non-tipped employees and $5.25 per hour for tipped employees.
Importantly, Ohio's new minimum wage requirements for "non-tipped" employees do not apply to employers who gross less than $385,000. Employers who gross less than that amount shall pay their employees no less than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. Furthermore, 14- and 15-year-olds across the state are subject to the federal minimum and not Ohio's minimum wage requirements.
To be considered a "tipped employee," an employee must regularly and customarily receive more than thirty dollars ($30.00) per month in tips. Those who do not meet that threshold are considered "non-tipped employees."
In Ohio, individuals exempt from minimum wage include any individual employed by the U.S. government; babysitters and live-in companions whose primary job responsibilities don't include housekeeping; workers with disabilities whose employers are authorized to pay them a sub-minimum wage; employees working for their family member's business; employees at non-profit-run camps for children under 18; and those hired as outside salespersons who earn a commission.
It is likely that further changes to the minimum wage requirements in Ohio will once again appear on the ballot in the November 2024 election. A constitutional amendment backed by the Raise the Wage Ohio Coalition, proposes an increase in the state's minimum wage to $12.75 an hour starting in 2025 and a proposed increase to $15.00 an hour by 2026. Senate Bill 146 has also been introduced, which would gradually raise the state's minimum wage one dollar each year until it reaches $15.00 in 2027.
Co-Authored By: Ann-Marie Ahern, Principal & Michael P. O'Neil, Law Clerk
Originally published 04 January 2024
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