Ohio is one of 30 states with a higher minimum wage than the federal government’s $7.25 floor for tipped employees. Among those states, only Virginia, West Virginia, Montana and Michigan had lower minimum wages than Ohio’s in 2025, according to U.S Department of Labor figures.
The 2026 adjustment marks another year of status quo in Ohio’s minimum wage laws, despite a lingering statewide initiative for a $15 minimum wage, also tied to inflation.
The proposed constitutional amendment, backed by a national group called One Fair Wage, has been quiet since organizers decided not to turn in their accumulated petition signatures back in July of 2024. Organizers said they didn’t meet the signature threshold in Ohio’s urban counties and vowed to try again in 2025, to no avail.
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Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below.
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