Ohio minimum wage to go up again

FINDLAY — Ohio's minimum wage will go up again at the beginning of next year. On Jan. 1, the minimum wage will be $11.40 an hour for most employees and $5.70 an hour for employees who receive tips. That's a 3.5% increase from the current minimum wage of $11 for non-tipped employees and $5.50 for tipped employees. Ohio voters approved a state question in November 2006, amending the state constitution so that the state's minimum wage would rise at the beginning of the year to match the inflation rate. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. And in Ohio, that remains the minimum wage for certain small businesses and for workers who are 14 or 15 years old. On Jan. 1, Ohio's minimum wage will apply to businesses that have annual gross receipts of more than $420,000. That's up from the current threshold of $405,000. The federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour hasn't gone up since 2009. It was raised by a law passed in 2007. It won't go up again unless Congress passes a new law. States and cities, however, are allowed to approve minimum wages that are higher than the federal minimum wage. According to the Economic Policy Institute, 30 states and the District of Columbia have minimum wages that are higher than the federal minimum wage. That means that 20 states use the federal minimum wage. The states that border Ohio have varying minimum wages. Michigan's current minimum wage is $13.73 an hour. It is $16 an hour in much of New York but $17 an hour in certain locations, including New York City. In West Virginia, the minimum wage is $8.75 an hour. Among other states bordering Ohio, Pennsylvania, Indiana and Kentucky follow the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Ohio employers are required to display the official 2027 Minimum Wage poster. The poster is available from the website of the Ohio Department of Commerce's Division of Industrial Compliance. That division's Bureau of Wage and Hour Administration enforces Ohio's minimum wage law, protects minors who work and enforces fair pay for public works projects.