Ohio minimum wage to increase to $7.30 in 2009

The minimum wage in Ohio will increase on January 1, 2009, from $7 per hour to $7.30 per hour for non-tipped employees and from $3.50 per hour to $3.65 per hour for tipped employees. The increase was announced by the Ohio Department of Commerce and will apply to employers who gross more than $267,000 per year.

The state minimum wage for employees in smaller companies (grossing less than $255,000 per year or less than $267,000 after January 1, 2009) and for 14- and 15-year-old is currently $6.55 per hour and will increase to $7.25 per hour on July 24, 2009.
Passed by voters in November 2006, the constitutional amendment states that minimum wage in Ohio shall increase on January 1 of each year by the rate of inflation. The increase is tied to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for urban wage earners and clerical workers for the 12-month period prior to September. From September 1, 2007 to August 31, 2008, the CPI rose 4.6 percent.