labor lawAdivision of labor law center

 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.

Employers have already been warned that the state minimum wage will increase with the new year in Oregon, Washington, Florida, New Mexico, Vermont, Colorado, Arizona, Missouri, Montana, Ohio and Connecticut.

However, employers in other states also have to contend with minimum wage increases this year.

Even if an employer has no minimum wage employees, each increase means the employer must update his or her minimum wage posters. By law, employers are required to display a variety of labor law posters prominently in the workplace. Failure to do so can result in fines, penalties and citations.

On July 1, 2009 the Illinois minimum wage will increase by 50 cents, from $7.50 to $8.00 per hour. This is the final step in a 3-tiered increase introduced by the now-infamous (more…)

Minimum wage changes in 2009 will require every employer in the nation to update his or her labor law posters.

On January 1, 2009 eleven states will increase the minimum wage. The majority of these states implement annual cost-of-living increases in the state minimum wage.

The biggest minimum wage increase in the nation this January is $1.00 per hour, in New Mexico. This changes the New Mexico minimum wage from $6.50 to $7.50 per hour. This is a statutory change, not a cost of living change.

The Washington state minimum wage remains the highest in 2009, increasing by 48 cents from $8.07 to $8.55 per hour. The Oregon minimum wage is second, increasing by 45 cents from $7.95 to $8.40 per hour. Third place goes to Vermont, where the minimum wage increases by 38 cents from $7.68 to $8.06 per hour.

There is a 3-way tie for fourth place, between Massachusetts, Connecticut and California. That’s due to a 35 cent increase raising the Connecticut minimum wage from $7.65 to $8.00 per hour.

Massachusetts and California have minimum wages of $8.00 per hour that do not increase in 2009. It’s worth noting that when the Massachusetts and California (more…)

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…)