Ohio’s minimum wage is scheduled to remain unchanged for 2016 at $8.10 per hour for non-tipped employees and $4.05 per hour for tipped employees. The minimum wage will apply to employees of businesses with annual gross receipts of more than $297,000 per year.
The Constitutional Amendment passed by Ohio voters in November 2006 states that Ohio’s minimum wage shall increase on January 1 of each year by the rate of inflation. The state minimum wage is tied to the federally determined Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) for urban wage earners and clerical workers for the 12-month period prior to September. This national CPI-W index declined 0.3 percent over the twelve month period from September 1, 2014 to August 31, 2015. The Constitutional Amendment 
states that the minimum wage level shall increase at the rate of inflation, therefore, a decrease in the CPI-W index means that the Ohio minimum wage will remain the same as in the previous year. The Constitutional Amendment is available online:
www.legislature.state.oh.us/constitution.cfm?Part=2&Section=34a
For employees at smaller companies with annual gross receipts of $297,000 or less per year after January 1, 2016 and for 14- and 15-year-olds, the state minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. For these employees, the state wage is tied to the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour which requires an act of Congress and the President’s signature to change.
