Information on the federal minimum wage increase of 2007

The Fair Minimum Wage constitutional amendment was approved by 56 percent of Ohio voters in the November 2006 election. The Fair Minimum Wage campaign was backed by a coalition of non-profit, community, faith-based, civil rights and labor organizations. The amendment raises the current minimum wage to $6.85 per hour and provides for inflationary increases in the future. Additionally, with limited exceptions, private and public employers will be required to retain employment records and provide public access to those records upon request.

January 2008 Update
Ohio's minimum wage increased on January 1, 2008 to $7 per hour for hourly employees and to $3.50 per hour (plus tips) for "tipped" employees. Ohio's previous minimum wage was $6.85 per hour for hourly employees and $3.43 per hour for tipped employees

The increased minimum wage applies to employers who gross more than $255,000 per year. Previously, Ohio's minimum wage applied to employers who gross over $250,000 per year

The constitutional amendment passed by voters in November 2006 states that Ohio's minimum wage will increase on January 1 of each year by the rate of inflation as calculated by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for urban wage earners and clerical workers for the prior 12-month period as of Sept. 30. The CPI rose two percent from October 1, 2006 to September 30, 2007. The amendment also provides that the wage rate be rounded to the nearest five cents.

Ohio's minimum wage applies to Ohio workers, except for 14- and 15-year-olds and employees who work for employers who currently gross less than $250,000 per year or below $255,000 after January 1, 2008.

Additional information on Ohio's minimum wage is available on the Ohio Department of Commerce website. According to the Department of Commerce, .

On January 1, 2008, .

April 2007 Update
On April 2, 2007, House Bill 690 went into effect. However, employee groups have threatened and continue to threaten to legally challenge this new law.

As discussed in greater detail in the bulletins listed below, HB 690 clarifies several provisions of Ohio’s Fair Minimum Wage Constitutional Amendment enacted last fall. Of greatest interest to most Ohio employers are the provisions of HB 690 which provide that: (1) FLSA exempt employees (e.g., executive, administrative and professional employees and outside sales people) and volunteers are exempt from the new minimum wage, and (2) employers do not have to keep a record of hours worked each day worked for the above individuals (although that remains a best practice).

Resources Available

Frequently Asked Questions
A series of questions and answers, updated on January 3, 2007, regarding the minimum wage and record-keeping requirements of the Ohio Constitutional amendment and implementing legislations

Sample Wage Information Request Form
Ohio's Fair Minimum Wage Amendment permits employees to request certain wage information from their employers. This sample form may assist employers dealing with such requests until H.B. 690, the Amendment's enabling legislation, becomes effective on April 2, 2007. We are developing a new form for those requests after April 1, 2007.

The Fair Minimum Wage Amendment
Full text of State Issue 2 as passed by the Ohio voters in the November 2006 election

Full text of H.B. 690
Full text of the implementing legislation passed in December 2006 by the Ohio General Assembly and signed by Governor Taft on January 2, 2007.

Ohio Legislative Service Commission Analysis

Legislation Implementing Ohio's New Minimum Wage Amendment Passed
Bulletin on Ohio House Bill 690, legislation to implement Ohio's new minimum wage and recordkeeping Constitutional amendment.

If you have any questions about the new Amendment, or any other employment matter, please contact:

Betsy Swift
James G. Petrie
Elizabeth C. Stock