Co-Authored By: Ann-Marie Ahern, Principal & Michael P. O’Neil, Law Clerk
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.
To learn more or seek counsel from our employment law group, please reach out to request a consultation or call us at 216-696-1422.
