Ohio Minimum Wage, what happens next? Ohio law requires that employers pay their employees at least the state minimum wage unless an exemption applies. That means, for example, that employees who receive tips and credit must be paid at least the minimum wage.
Employers can use this rule to keep their labor costs low and maximize profitability. However, it’s important to remember that Ohio laws can be complex and there are a lot of regulations to abide by.
What is the Ohio minimum wage in 2023?
The minimum wage is the amount that an employer must pay an employee for each hour worked. This rate is set by law and is updated on an annual basis.
The Ohio minimum wage is currently $10.10 per hour for employees at larger businesses with annual gross receipts of $371,000 or more and for 14- and 15-year-olds. Smaller businesses with gross income below that amount may pay employees the federal minimum wage, which is $10.10 per hour, if they are covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act.
In addition to the minimum wage, Ohio also has several rules regarding overtime pay. These include a requirement that employees who work more than 40 hours in a week be paid one and one-half times their regular rate of pay for those hours. Employers with less than $150,000 in annual gross revenue are exempt from the overtime requirement as well.
Who is covered by the minimum wage?
The minimum wage applies to all full-time hourly workers. It also applies to part-time employees, such as seasonal and temporary workers.
Ohio’s minimum wage is currently $7.70, scheduled to increase to $8.85 on 1/1/2013. It is based on the federal minimum wage rate of $7.25 and is reviewed in September of each year, then adjusted on January 1 of the following year based on the Consumer Price Index.
In addition to being covered by the minimum wage, many Ohio workers are entitled to overtime pay when they work more than 40 hours in a week. The wage and overtime laws are very complicated, and they have many exemptions for employers who have fewer than five employees or who have gross annual revenue below a certain threshold.
If you are a worker in Ohio who believes your employer failed to pay you at least the minimum wage for all the hours you worked, you should seek legal help immediately. An experienced Columbus minimum wage attorney can help you sue for back pay and monetary damages.
How does the minimum wage work?
While there are some exceptions to the Ohio minimum wage, the vast majority of employers must pay their employees the minimum wage. The minimum wage is based on the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), a federal law that sets standards for wages and hours worked.
Despite this, many businesses and employees run into issues when it comes to paying the minimum wage correctly. Examples include not properly paying the wage, taking the wrong tip credit for tipped employees or failing to pay overtime at the correct rate.
However, Ohio law frowns on this type of behavior. Employers can be liable for the unpaid wages of an employee plus liquidated damages and attorney’s fees.
Increasing the minimum wage is critical for creating a more just economy that dignifies everyone. This is especially important in the restaurant industry, where profit margins and cost structures are often more reliant on the income of minimum wage workers than in other industries.
What are the exemptions to the minimum wage?
There are several exemptions to the minimum wage in Ohio. These include police officers, firefighters, newspaper delivery workers, and those employed by the state legislature.
Agricultural workers are also exempt from the state’s minimum wage requirement. Specifically, employees who work more than 500 “man-days” (a man-day is 40 hours), are paid on a piece-rate basis, and have worked less than thirteen weeks in the previous year are exempt.
Additionally, commissioned sales staff in retail or service establishments are exempt from the overtime pay requirements if more than half of their earnings come from commissions and they average at least one and one-half times the minimum wage for all hours they work.
Despite these exemptions, there are still some cases where employers fail to comply with the law. For example, some companies automatically classify sales representatives as exempt without performing the necessary calculations to determine whether they’re earning more than 1.5 times the minimum wage during overtime hours or if they’re consistently earning more than 50% of their pay from commissions.
