labor lawAdivision of labor law center

On January 1, 2009 the Ohio minimum wage increases by 30 cents from $7.00 to $7.30 per hour.  

On that same date, the Ohio minimum wage for tipped employees increases by 15 cents, from $3.50 to $3.65 per hour, according to the Ohio Department of Commerce. Any tipped Ohio employee who does not average $3.65 per hour in tips must be paid the difference in wages by the employer.

Under Ohio law, smaller companies can pay employers less. Companies with revenue less than $267,000 in 2009 can pay just $6.55 under the Ohio minimum wage law. However, when the federal minimum wage increases on July 24, 2009, they must pay at least $7.25 per hour. Youths who are 14 and 15 years of age can also be paid these reduced wages.

A constitutional amendment passed by Ohio voters in November 2006 requires the state minimum wage to be adjusted for inflation each year. The increase is tied to the Consumer Price Index or CPI for urban wage earners and clerical workers for the 12-month period ending in August.

Between September 1, 2007 and August 21, 2008, the CPI increased 4.6%, sparking higher-than-usual increases in the minimum wage in a number of states.

The highest minimum wage cost-of-living increase for the year is in Washington state, where the minimum wage increases by 48 cents from $8.07 to $8.55 per hour. Similar increases include 45-cent increases in Oregon (to $8.40 per hour) and Connecticut (to $8.00 per hour) and a 42-cent increase in Florida (to $7.21.)

The largest minimum wage increase with the new year, however, is not a cost-of-living increase. In New Mexico, under a state law passed by the majority of voters in 2006, the minimum wage will increase by $1.00, from $6.50 per hour to $7.50 per hour.

In total 11 states increase the minimum wage with the new year.

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