Ohio's minimum wage will increase in 2024. Are you eligible to earn it?

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Inflation has hit more than just the grocery aisles – it’s also hitting Ohio’s minimum wage.

At the stroke of midnight Jan. 1, the state minimum wage will increase nearly 3.5% to $10.45 an hour. Not every worker is eligible for the new wage, however.

Ohioans passed a constitutional amendment in 2006 that requires the state minimum wage to increase each year by the rate of inflation. Tied to the Consumer Price Index for the 12-month period before September, the minimum wage will increase 3.45%, from $10.10 in 2023, according to the Ohio Department of Commerce. The CPI from September 2022 to this September is 3.7%.

The new wage only applies to non-tipped employees – those who make more than $30 a month in tips will see a boost to their hourly wage from $5.05 to $5.25. And those who work for a company that makes less than $385,000 in gross receipts, as well as working 14- and 15-year-olds across the state, will still be paid at the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.

Not all workers who otherwise fit the bill are eligible for Ohio’s minimum wage. Exemptions to minimum wage requirements include:

• Those employed by the U.S. government
• Babysitters and live-in companion workers whose primary job responsibilities don’t include housekeeping
• Workers with disabilities whose employers are authorized to pay them a sub-minimum wage, as determined by federal guidelines
• Employees working for their family member’s business
• Employees at non-profit-run camps for children under 18 
• Those hired as outside salespersons who earn commission

Employers looking to pay the tipped hourly wage must demonstrate that workers regularly earn at least $10.45 an hour with tips. By federal and state law, tips are not allowed to be distributed to managers.