labor lawAdivision of labor law center

The state Department of Commerce recently announced that the 2010 Ohio minimum wage will remain at $7.30 per hour.  

This is good news for employers across Ohio, who had been bracing for another annual increase on January 1, 2010. Under an amendment to the constitution passed by voters in November 2006, the Ohio minimum wage will increases each year on January 1.

However, the Ohio minimum wage increase is based on inflation for the previous year – specifically, it is based on the Consumer Price Index or CPI for urban wage earners and clerical workers for the 12-month period ending August 31. So the 2010 Ohio minimum wage is based on the CPI for September 2008 through August 2009.

During that period, the CPI declined by 0.2%. By law the Ohio minimum wage cannot be reduced, but it will not be increased in 2010, either.

The Ohio minimum wage applies to employers with annual revenue of more than $267,000. Employers grossing less than $267,000 per year can pay just $7.25 per hour – an amount equal to the federal minimum wage. The minimum wage for employees who are 14 or 15 (more…)

 According to the Ohio Department of Commerce, the state of Ohio increased its minimum wage as of January 1, 2009.

The Ohio minimum wage, which tracks the cost of living, went up by 30 cents an hour. The old rate was $7.00 per hour and the new rate is $7.30.

The increase in Ohio is not the largest increase in the minimum wage nationwide. In Washington, the increase was 48 cents an hour – to $8.55 hourly from $8.07. Oregon experienced a 45-cent hike, bringing its rate to $8.40 hourly. Connecticut’s rate also went up by 45 cents an hour. The new Connecticut minimum is now $8.00 an hour.

Altogether, 11 states increased their minimum wage rates as of January 1, 2009.

The largest actual minimum wage increase was in New Mexico. Under a new law passed by voters in 2006, the rate went up $1.00 an hour, from $6.50 to $7.50. New Mexico’s increase was not based on the cost of living, however.

In November of 2006, voters in Ohio approved a constitutional amendment mandating that the minimum wage track the inflation rate annual. The state uses the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for urban wage earners and clerical workers for a 12-month period that ends each August.

Because the CPI climbed 4.6% between September 1, 2007 and August 21, 2008, Ohio’s minimum wage also showed an atypically large jump, as did the wage rates in several other states as well.

This January 1 the minimum wage for Ohio workers receiving tips also went up. The new rate is $3.65 hourly, an increase of 15 cents. If a tipped employee in Ohio does not earn an average of $3.65 an hour in tips, then the management is required to make up the difference.

Ohio law has an exception whereby smaller companies may pay their workers less than larger companies do. If revenue is below $267,000 in 2009, the company is allowed to pay $6.55 an hour. However, that will only be the case until July 24, 2009, when the new federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour overrides lower rates.

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 (more…)

Two Ohio community colleges plus one state agency will receive more than $6.7 million in grants to train workers for advanced technology applications, thanks to three recent grants by the U.S. Department of Labor.

In each case, the funds were awarded because employers in the area need a more skilled labor pool. All three grants will be used to train workers in the burgeoning healthcare industry.

James A. Rhodes State College in Lima, Ohio will receive an award of $1,999,054 to hire staff and implement new worker training programs in healthcare.

An additional grant of $2 million dollars goes to Stark State College of Technology in North Canton, Ohio.

The final grant was awarded to the Cleveland/Cuyahoga One-Stop Career Center, a state employment agency.

As a result of technological innovations, many industries in the United States will expand, and many new industries will come on the scene during the 21st century. Many of these industries are suffering a deficit of skilled employees, the available positions far exceeding the number of qualified applicants.

Employers receive more benefits from these programs than just skilled workers. The Workforce Investment System offers incentives such as tax credits and government training assistance. Join these with the reduced recruiting costs, and these programs greatly relieve some of the financial burden of seeking out qualified workers. In addition, the programs provide a method of screening and referral of skilled candidates, which increases retention of employees and the quality and competitive ability of the workforce.

The Grants focus on the businesses and industries, and are an extension of a national model for development of a workforce on demand known as the President’s High Growth Job Training Initiative. These programs focus on community colleges in the areas that need help. Funds are granted to increase the college’s ability to train employees in these high-growth high-demand positions.

The Community Based Job Training Grants award funds to help train new and experience workers. These funds are used to hiring qualified teachers, arrange work-study programs and to provide updated equipment required for the training. The colleges work closely with the local industries to develop training courses and programs to help meet the needs of those industries.

According to the research done by the High Growth Job Training Initiative, fourteen areas of the economy are expected to provide new jobs. Some of these jobs will come from new industries, others from innovations in technology that result in new methods requiring new skills. Included in these 14 areas are Financial Services, Geospatial Technology, Aerospace, Homeland Security and Retail.

The President’s Community Based Job Training Grants Initiative was established to aid these industries in finding trained employees by providing funds to local community colleges and training facilities.

Established in 2005, the program awarded 72 grants. In the second round in 2006, 70 grants were awarded. According to a recent U. S. Department of Labor announcement, the grants for 2008 were awarded to 69 institutions in 36 states.

“Preparing local residents for careers in growing hometown industries is critical to improving the quality of life of thousands of Americans,” said acting Assistant Secretary of Labor for Employment and Training Brent R. Orrell. “These programs will provide participants not only with the skills needed to gain employment, but the change to enter into careers that offer opportunities for advancement.”

The focus of the Grants program is to boost the community college’s role in aiding American workers, and to assist these workers in gaining high-paying jobs with advancement. A secondary goal is to provide America’s companies with the workers needed to get the job done, now and well into the 21^st century.

Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), employees have the right to as much as 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave yearly to deal with their own “serious medical condition” or that of a member of their immediate families.

Employers, in turn, have long had the right to require that a professional healthcare provider certify the employee’s condition. Employers have had the right to request second and third opinions, provided they pay for them.

Now some of the regulations regarding certification are being streamlined and updated. The new rules permit employers to “request” recertification of an ongoing condition at least every half-year, in connection with an absence.

The U.S. Department of Labor uses the word “request,” but employers may actually deny an FMLA leave if an employee does not reply with that “request.”

A new provision would allow employers to require new medical certifications yearly for an employee’s ongoing health condition. If a worker has migraine headaches, for example, and must take periodic days off through FMLA, yearly recertification may legally be required.

The new rules allow employers to clarify a medical condition with a healthcare professional as long as neither party violates HIPAA medical privacy regulations. Employers may not, however, ask the providers for information not included on the certification. While the WH-380 form has been updated, it remains optional. Healthcare providers need not supply a diagnosis.

Under the old regulations, employers could request recertification if a previous certificate put a time limit on the health condition. The problem is that providers often list conditions as “lifetime” or their duration as “unknown,” effectively preventing employers from seeking recertification. The new rules change that. If Mary suffers from carpal tunnel syndrome requiring 6 weeks’ absence, her employer may seek recertification if she is absent after 6 weeks are up.

Employers, under the old rules, could request recertification after 30 days, but only if the employee was currently absent on FMLA leave. If, for example, employee John takes more than one month off under FMLA his employer could seek recertification, but only if John is still away from work.

More Ohio FMLA Changes

New changes to the FMLA regulations will be published in the National Register after April 11, 2008. At that time they become law. Until April 11, employers may comment on the updates, as may other interested parties.

The U.S. Labor Department recently issued the proposed changes that will affect employers around the U.S. A significant change involves revisions to the so-called “fitness-for-duty” certification process.

One change would permit employers to require that the certificate specifically talk to the matter of an employee’s capability for performing key components of his or her job. If a warehouse worker’s job largely consists of lifting heavy containers, for example, the employer may require certification that the worker is capable once again of lifting heavy objects.

Another is designed to eliminate occasional abuse of the FMLA leave by some employees. It addresses situations in which workers take intermittent, short-term FMLA leave. The update would allow employers to require a “fitness-for-duty” certificate each time the employee wishes to return to the job, provided there is a valid safety concern.

If truck driver Carl, for example, suffers from migraine headaches that interfere with his vision, his employer may require a certificate each time Carl returns. Having a driver with impaired vision would be a valid safety concern. However, if an employee is pregnant and suffers intermittently from serious morning sickness requiring her to take FMLA leave, a certificate could not be requested because there is no valid safety concern involved.

FMLA regulations currently allow employers to require certificates from a healthcare professional showing they are capable of returning to work. The policy, as with other policies, must be applied consistently in similar situations. All employees taking FMLA leave for a “serious health condition” could be required to provide a certificate when they wish to return. But the manager may also choose not to require such a certificate from someone returning after caring for a newly adopted child.

This policy and all policies must adhere to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Title VII prohibits workplace discrimination based on religion, national origin, gender, color, or race.