OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
Office of Research Legislative Budget
www.lsc.ohio.gov and Drafting Office
H.B. 96 Bill Analysis
135th General Assembly
Click here for H.B. 96’s Fiscal Note
Version: As Introduced
Primary Sponsors: Reps. Jarrells and Mohamed
Effective Date:
Paul Luzzi, Attorney
SUMMARY
Increases the basic state minimum wage to $11.00 per hour beginning January 1, 2024.
Increases the basic state hourly minimum wage rate by $1.00 each year for the
following four years, beginning January 1 of the respective year.
Requires, beginning January 1, 2029, the minimum wage rates to be adjusted annually
based on the Consumer Price Index, in accordance with Ohio’s constitutional minimum
wage requirements.
DETAILED ANALYSIS
State minimum wage
The bill raises the state minimum wage rate to $11.00 per hour beginning January 1,
2024. (Because this date has passed, it is unclear when the bill would be implemented. An
amendment may be necessary to address this issue.) It also increases the hourly minimum
wage by $1.00 each year for the following four years. The following table identifies the
minimum wage under the bill an employee must be paid during the listed year.1
Year Hourly wage rate under the bill
2024 $11.00
2025 $12.00
1 R.C. 4111.02(A) with conforming changes in R.C. 4111.09 and 4111.14.
June 21, 2024
Office of Research and Drafting LSC Legislative Budget Office
Year Hourly wage rate under the bill
2026 $13.00
2027 $14.00
2028 $15.00
Under current law, the basic state minimum wage is $10.45 per hour.2 The basic state
minimum wage is currently set pursuant to the Minimum Wage Amendment of the Ohio
Constitution (MWA). The MWA requires the basic state minimum wage to be increased
annually according to the Consumer Price Index or its successor index for all urban wage
earners and clerical workers for all items as calculated by the federal government, rounded to
the nearest five cents. However, the MWA allows laws to be passed that set the state minimum
wage at a rate higher than the rate calculated pursuant to the MWA. The bill establishes
scheduled increases in the minimum wage rate and, beginning January 1, 2029, requires the
Director of Commerce, who administers and enforces the law, to adjust the minimum wage
rate annually in accordance with the MWA.
Currently, pursuant to MWA, employees who are under age 16 or who are employed by
a business with gross annual receipts of $385,000 or less in 2023 must be paid at least the
federal minimum wage rate, which is $7.25 per hour. Under the MWA, the amount of gross
annual receipts is adjusted annually based on the Consumer Price Index. The bill eliminates the
exception for employees under 16 and employers with $385,000 or less in gross receipts and
requires these employees to be paid the minimum wage rate required under the bill.
Additionally, the MWA allows tipped employees to be paid less than, but not less than
half, the basic state minimum wage rate if the employer is able to demonstrate that the
employee receives tips that combined with the wages paid by the employer are equal to or
greater than the state minimum wage rate for all hours worked. The bill eliminates the
exception for tipped employees and requires they be paid the wage rate applicable under the
bill.3
2See Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Industrial Compliance (ODC-DIC), State of Ohio 2024
Minimum Wage (PDF), which may be accessed by conducting a keyword “minimum wage poster” search
on the Department’s website: https://com.ohio.gov/.
3R.C. 4111.02(B); see also Ohio Constitution, Article II, Section 34a and ODC-DIC, State of Ohio 2024
Minimum Wage (PDF).
P a g e |2 H.B. 96
As Introduced
Office of Research and Drafting LSC Legislative Budget Office
Apprentices
The bill also eliminates the authority of the Director to adopt rules permitting the
employment of apprentices at a wage rate not less than 85% of the state minimum wage. The
Director has not adopted these rules.4
Relationship between state and federal law
The federal Fair Labor Standards Act5 (FLSA) and Ohio’s minimum wage laws both
specify minimum wages that an employer must pay the employer’s employees at least the
minimum wage. An employer may be subject to one or both laws. The FLSA specifies that if an
employer is subject to both laws, the employer is governed by the law that establishes the
higher minimum wage.6 Currently, Ohio has a higher basic minimum wage ($10.45 per hour in
2024) as compared to the basic minimum wage under the FLSA ($7.25 per hour). Thus,
employers subject to both laws pay the state rate under current law and under the bill.
HISTORY
Action Date
Introduced 03-07-23
ANHB0096IN-135/ar
4 R.C. 4111.07, repealed, with conforming change in R.C. 4111.05.
5 29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.
6 29 U.S.C. 218.
P a g e |3 H.B. 96
As Introduced
Statutes affected: As Introduced: 4111.02, 4111.05, 4111.09, 4111.14, 4111.07