Ohio’s minimum wage rises

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Staff report

COLUMBUS — The state of Ohio’s minimum wage has increased, effective Jan. 1, 2020, to $8.70 per hour for non-tipped employees and $4.35 per hour for tipped employees.

According to a press release from the Ohio Department of Commerce, the minimum wage increase applies to employees of businesses with annual gross receipts of more than $319,000 per year.

The 2019 Ohio minimum wage was $8.55 per hour for non-tipped employees and $4.30 for tipped employees. The 2019 Ohio minimum wage applied to employees of businesses with annual gross receipts of more than $314,000 per year.

The Constitutional Amendment II-34a, passed by Ohio voters in November 2006, states Ohio’s minimum wage shall increase on Jan. 1 of each year by the rate of inflation. To read the amendment, visit www.legislature.ohio.gov and search “II.34a.”

This amendment is an addendum to Article II-34, passed in September of 1912, which states “laws may be passed fixing and regulating the hours of labor, establishing a minimum wage, and providing for the comfort, health, safety and general welfare of all employes; and no other provision of the constitution shall impair or limit this power.”

The state minimum wage is tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) for urban wage earners and clerical workers for the 12-month period prior to September, the release states. This CPI-W index increased by 1.5 percent over the 12-month period from Sept. 1, 2018, to Aug. 31, 2019.

The release also states that for employees at smaller companies with annual gross receipts of $319,000 or less per year after Jan. 1, 2020, and for 14- and 15-year-olds, the state minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. For these employees, the state wage is tied to the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the federal minimum wage has remained stagnant at $7.25 per hour since July 2009.

The federal minimum wage does not increase automatically, according to the DOL, and in order for it to be raised, Congress must pass a bill which the president then signs into law.

For more information, visit www.dol.gov.

Annual increase tied to Consumer Price Index

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