Cleveland Law Library Weblog

Ohio Minimum Wage Increased to $7.30 on New Year's Day

As reported by Ohio's Department of Commerce's Division of Labor & Worker Safety, Ohio's minimum wage increased from $7.00 to $7.30 per hour effective on January 1st. Waiters and waitresses also receive an increase in their base pay from $3.50 to $3.65 per hour. An article from ohio.com explains the joy employees are feeling in contrast to the concerns of small businesses over the increases. Additional increases will come in July of 2009. These changes are being made pursuant to a Constitutional amendment (Issue 2) that Ohio voters passed in 2006 adding Article II, section 34a. Ohio's Minimum Wage laws are contained in Chapter 4111 of the Ohio Revised Code.

EEOC Private Claims Went Up 15.2 % in 2008

According to the EEOC's FY 2008 Performance and Accountability Report, private EEOC charges were up 15.2% over 2007 figures. That means that more and more employees have been claiming discrimination and/or harassment at work. Thanks for the tip on this information go to KJK's Ohio Employer's Law Blog, which predicts that the figures will go up again in 2009.

Paid Sick Leave May Make it to Ohio's November Ballot

According to the Plain Dealer, a group called Ohioans for Healthy Families has gathered more than the required number of signatures that could put an issue on the ballot in November to guarantee full-time employees who work at companies with 25 or more workers 7 days of paid sick leave per year. Part-time employees would be entitled to pro-rated, paid sick leave. There have been a lot of articles lately about attempts by Ohio Governor Strickland to hammer out a compromise package that would not go to the voters. The Plain Dealer article indicates that select groups, including Ohioans to Protect Jobs and Fair Benefits, are concerned about the impact required, paid days off would have on Ohio employers and businesses. Interestingly, Ohio would lead the nation if sick leave becomes mandatory. Click here to read the text of the proposed Ohio Healthy Families Act, that would add Chapter 4114 to the Ohio Revised Code in Title 41, governing Labor and Industry.

Federal Minimum Wage Rises to $6.55

As of yesterday, the new federal minimum wage for nonexempt, non-tipped employees is $6.55, up 70 cents from the former wage of $5.85. This calculates out to $262 a week or $13,624 per year for a full time employee working 52 40-hour weeks. This is the second in a series of three phases designed to raise minimum wage. Some states like Ohio mandate higher minimum wages, while others match federal levels. Ohio's rate is currently $7.00 per hour. Click here to read an article from NPR and listen to a short broadcast about the new federal changes. Click here to read a short summary from the law firm of Thompson Hine about how Ohio's minimum wage is set under the Ohio Constitution. The amendment which allows Ohio to adjust the minimum wage every year can be found in Article II, section 34a.

Ohio Unemployment Comp System in Jeopardy

An article from the Columbus Dispatch reports that funding for Ohio's unemployment compensation system is in jeopardy. This comes on the heels of a recent 13-week extension of benefits under the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 2008. (See our prior blog post.) According to Solvency Recommendations prepared by The Urban Institute of Washington, D.C., Ohio's unemployment fund is in jeopardy of going broke if changes are not made soon to  increase the tax base upon which employers pay unemployment comp. premiums, freeze employee pay-outs, or both. Currently, contributing employers (i.e., those who are not self-insured) pay a percentage premium based on the first $9,000 of each employee's pay, but the recommendations suggest increasing this base by up to $3,000 per person. Calculations estimate raising the base to $11,000 per employee would raise $200 million by December of 2009. A fact of which I was astounded is that the unemployment comp. fund currently pays out about $100 million each month to out-of-work Ohioans. With jobless rates so high, the fund could be stretched even further next year. Other recommendations from the report suggest decreasing benefits, eliminating dependents' benefits, or borrowing from and having to repay the federal government. The article concludes by suggesting that a combination of measures that affect both employees and employers might have to be employed.

Ohio To Extend Unemployment Compensation Benefits

The word is spreading quickly that the State of Ohio has extended unemployment compensation benefits by an additional 13 weeks, starting July 6th. Up until yesterday, the average, eligible employee could only receive up to 26 weeks of unemployment comp. benefits under Ohio law contained in Chapter 4141 of the Ohio Revised Code. The Worker's Guide also has helpful information about benefits without all of the legalese. Today, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services posted information on the brand new federal law allowing the extension, known as HR 2642, or the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 2008. The President signed HR 2642 on June 30th, stating in a White House Press Release that "[t]his bill includes a measured expansion of unemployment insurance benefits with a reasonable work requirement." As the ODJFS site also indicates, ODJFS will be notifying eligible individuals very soon that they are entitled to the additional compensation, but they can already check an FAQ on the new program on the agency's website.

Ohio Supreme Court To Consider Employee Residency Laws

The Ohio Supreme Court has decided to tackle employee residency requirements that have been at issue in various communities in Ohio. Without consolidating the matters, the Court will hear separate arguments the same day in 2 cases involving the extent of home rule authority to require employees in Akron (Case No. 2008-0418) and Lima (Case No. 2008-0128) to live where they work. See our prior posts about the 1) the Akron and Lima appeals and 2) the original Summit County Common Pleas Court decision. Click here to read a report from the Toledo Blade that indicates 125 cities and 13 villages in Ohio have residency requirements.

Employees Sue Columbus-Based Skybus Under WARN Act

Last week, former employees of Skybus, a Columbus-based airline company which recently shut down its operations, sued the company in bankruptcy court, alleging that Skybus violated the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (aka The WARN Act). The WARN Act (contained in 29 U.S.C. sec. 2101 and 20 CFR Part 639) was designed to protect employee rights and requires companies with 100 or more employees to give 60 days advance notice of a closing or pay its employees 60 days of pay. This case was filed in Delaware Bankrupty court as a class action adversary proceeding in Case No. 08-50570-CSS, and the Court's docket can be found on PACER. Skybus' bankruptcy proceeding on PACER is Case No.08-10636-CSS. Click here for a fact sheet on WARN from the U.S. Department of Labor. 

Akron City Employees Must Live Where They Work

In a case decided yesterday, the Ohio Ninth District Court of Appeals, held that Akron City employees must live in Akron if they want to keep their jobs. The Court’s decision upholding a residency restriction in Akron City Charter amendments (Section 105a) held that O.R.C. sec. 9.48.1 is unconstitutional. ORC sec. 9.48.1 was enacted 5/1/06 and generally prohibits political subdivisions from requiring their employees to live where they work. In December, another Court of Appeals upheld a Lima residency law similar to the one in Akron. Click here to read a story and listen to audio clips of responses from akronnewsnow.com. The Eighth District appeals Court has yet to decide the legality of similar residency restrictions for Cleveland employees.

Ohio's Minimum Wage Going Up On 1/1/08

Ohio's minimum wage for most employees is going up on January 1, 2008 from $6.85 per hour to $7.00 per hour for non-tipped workers and from $3.43 per hour plus tips to $3.50 per hour plus tips for tipped workers. According to the Ohio Department of Commerce, these new rates will apply to employers that gross more than $255,000 annually. Thereafter, rates will increase every January. For exceptions for younger employees or smaller employers, check the Commerce Department's Division of Labor & Worker Safety Press Release and website pamphlet.