Ohio 2015 Minimum Wage Increase Announced

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The Ohio Department of Commerce announced the State’s 2015 minimum wage rate of $8.10 for non-tipped workers, which is effective January 1, 2015.

Ohio’s 2015 minimum wage gives low-wage earners an hourly boost of 15 cents over the 2014 rate of $7.95.

What is the Minimum Wage for Non-Tipped Workers in Ohio?

Ohio’s minimum wage rate for tipped employees increased to $4.05 per hour.

Which Employers are Required to Pay the Minimum Wage?

Ohio employers with annual gross receipts of more than $297,000 per year are required to pay employees at least the minimum wage.

Why Does the Ohio Minimum Wage Change So Often?

The Ohio minimum wage is adjusted annually to reflect fluctuations in the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

The 2015 minimum wage rate represents an 18 percent increase over the 2007 rate after voters amended the State Constitution (Issue 2) to index the minimum wage, meaning that if inflation increases, the rate will adjust to help offset the effect on low-wage workers.

Ohio minimum-wage workers have received an average increase of 16 cents each year in the past eight years to compensate for the rate of inflation.

Ohio Minimum Wage Poster

GovDocs provides the Ohio Minimum Wage posting and other posting required for Ohio workplaces as part of the GovDocs Ohio Workplace Poster Packages, which includes:

  • Unemployment Insurance
  • Minimum Wage
  • Minor Labor Law
  • Ohio Fair Employment Practices Law
  • Rebuttable Presumption Law
  • No Smoking

Ohio employers can save 20% off all workplace posters using the GovDocs coupon code 2015MIN.

 

Oregon’s 2015 Minimum Wage Increase Announced

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Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) announced a 15-cent increase to the State minimum wage. The 1.6 percent increase brings the Oregon minimum wage to $9.25 an hour beginning Jan. 1, 2015.

According to Oregon Labor Commissioner Brad Avakian, the wage increase will affect eight percent of Oregon’s workforce (approximately 141,000 workers). The chart below reflects changes to Oregon’s minimum wage based on the CPI adjustments since 2002 when voters passed an initiative to calculate the minimum wage rate based on adjustments to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Oregon Minimum Wage Posting Requirement

The revised minimum wage poster is required for all employers in Oregon to display in a conspicuous location by the January 1, 2015 effective date. GovDocs includes this posting along with others required by the State of Oregon as part of the GovDocs Oregon Poster Compliance Packages, which include:

  • Minimum Wage
  • Safety & Health Protection on the Job
  • Family Leave
  • No Smoking
  • Domestic Violence, Harassment, Sexual Assault or Stalking (DVHSAS)

 

California Employees Win Paid Sick Leave

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California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law the Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (AB No. 1522) giving employees three days of paid sick leave. The law, which amends the California Labor Code, will allow approximately 6.5 million eligible workers in California to accrue paid sick days at a rate of one hour for every 30 hours worked. It covers both public and private employers, but some types of employees are excluded (see Exclusions below).

California is the second state in the U.S. to pass a paid sick leave law. Connecticut was the first in 2011.

What Employers Need to Know about California’s Paid Sick Leave Law

Eligibility: Beginning July 1, 2015, employees must work for at least 30 days within a year from the commencement of employment. The law applies to both employees who are exempted from overtime pay laws as well as those eligible for overtime pay.

Eligibility Exclusions

The law excludes certain California workers from eligibility for paid sick leave:

  • Employees covered by valid collective bargaining agreements with existing paid sick days, paid leave, or paid time off policies that permit the use of sick days.
  • Certain employees in the construction industry.
  • Providers of in-home supportive services.
  • Air carrier flight deck or cabin crew members who are subject to the provisions of Title II of the federal Railway Labor Act.

Sick Leave Usage

  • Employees can use accrued sick days beginning the ninetieth day of employment.
  • An employer may lend paid sick days to an employee in advance of accrual.
  • The requested paid sick leave may be used in the diagnosis, care, or treatment of an existing health condition of, or preventive care for:
    • The Employee
    • Children (biological, adopted, foster, stepchild, or legal ward)
    • Parents (biological, adoptive, foster, stepparent, or legal guardian of the employee or employee’s spouse or registered domestic partner)
    • Spouse or Registered Domestic Partner
    • Grandparents
    • Grandchildren
    • Siblings

Limits of Accrual

  • Accrual of paid sick days is capped to 24 hours (or the eight-hour days) in each year of employment.
  • Employees may carry over accrued sick leave time into subsequent calendar years; however, the total amount an employee may accrue remains 24 hours.
  • Employers do not have to pay out accrued sick leave to employees upon termination, resignation, retirement, or other separation from employment.

Retaliation: Discriminating or retaliating against employees who request paid sick days is unlawful.

California Employer Notice and Posting Requirements

Employers are required to display the new California Paid Sick Leave Act posting in each workplace. Failure to display the posting are subject to a fine of $100 per offense.

Employers also need to provide employees written notice regarding the paid sick leave balance on each employee’s itemized wage statement or separately on the designated pay date with the employee’s payment of wages.

Save 20% now on the new California Healthy Families Act posting and other postings required for California employers, which are part of the GovDocs California Posting Packages:

  • Notice to Employees – Unemployment Insurance, Disability Insurance, and Paid Family Leave
  • Safety & Health Protection on the Job
  • Discrimination and Harassment are Prohibited by Law
  • Pay Day Notice
  • Access to Medical Records
  • Time Off for Voting
  • Minimum Wage
  • Emergency Phone Numbers
  • No Smoking Except In Designated Areas
  • No Smoking
  • Notice A, Pregnancy Disability Leave
  • Notice B, Family Care and Medical Leave
  • Whistleblowers’ Protection Act
  • Notice to Employees – Injuries Caused by Work
  • IWC Wage Order (multiple industries)
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Save 20% on all Federal, California State Labor Law Posters, and California City Labor Law Posters at the GovDocs Labor Law Poster Store with Coupon Code 2015MIN.
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Connecticut Minimum Wage and Wage Orders

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Connecticut revised its minimum wage posting and five industry-specific wage orders to reflect increases in its minimum wage rate increases that took effect January 1, 2014.

The revisions are considered mandatory, and employers in the affected industries must display the most current version of the wage order appropriate to their business classification.

The minimum wage posting (aka the Administration Regulations Poster) and other postings required for Connecticut employers are available as part of GovDocs Connecticut labor law poster packages in print and electronic formats.

What is the Connecticut Minimum Wage?

Connecticut was the first state in the U.S. to schedule a minimum wage increase to $10.10 per hour. The increase will occur in stages by 2017. For workers not covered by industry-specific wage orders, the standard Connecticut minimum wage rate schedule is:

  • January 1, 2014: $8.70
  • January 1, 2015: $9.15
  • January 1, 2016: $9.60
  • January 1, 2016: $10.10

What is a Connecticut Wage Order?

Along with California and New York, Connecticut is one of three states that requires employers in certain industries to post industry-specific wage orders that define and regulate:

  • Minimum fair wage rates
  • Calculation of payment
  • Overtime rates
  • Uniform, housing, and transportation allowances
  • Record-keeping requirements for employers

Connecticut established five separate wage orders covering restaurants, dry cleaners, laundry, beauty shop and mercantile businesses who must display the wage order specific to their industry for employees. Each wage order establishes a sub-minimum wage specific to those industries.

Connecticut Wage Order for Restaurant and Hotel Restaurant Occupations

Mandatory Order Number 8 details the minimum fair wage requirements for restaurant employees who are:

“engaged in the preparation and serving of food for human consumption, or in any operation incidental or supplemental thereto irrespective of whether the food is served at or away from the point of preparation, and irrespective of whether the preparation and serving of food is the sole business of the employing establishment.”

Tipped table service workers (waitstaff) earn:

  • January 1, 2014: $5.69 per hour plus gratuities
  • January 1, 2015: $5.78 per hour plus gratuities
  • January 1, 2016: $6.07 per hour plus gratuities
  • January 1, 2016: $6.38 per hour plus gratuities

Bartenders earn:

  • January 1, 2014: $7.34 per hour plus gratuities
  • January 1, 2015: $7.46 per hour plus gratuities
  • January 1, 2016: $7.82 per hour plus gratuities
  • January 1, 2016: $8.23 per hour plus gratuities

In addition to the statutes covering wage and hour laws which are contained in Title 31, Chapter 558, there are specific wage orders with regulations that cover restaurants, mercantile establishments, beauty shops, dry cleaning and laundry. The Administrative Regulations cover all other businesses. Posters with these regulations must be posted at the place of business. Connecticut also provides Spanish versions of the Administrative Regulations and the Restaurant Wage Order.

Minor Employees in Restaurants

Connecticut restaurants employing minors need to limit the hours worked by staff aged 16-17 years old; for example:

During the school years, minor employees may be scheduled only between 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. on days when there is school in session the following day (or until midnight if there is no school the following day) – and no more than six hours per day for a total of 32 hours per week.

The minimum wage for minor workers (17 or younger) is:

  • January 1, 2014: $8.70
  • January 1, 2015: $9.15
  • January 1, 2016: $9.60
  • January 1, 2016: $10.10

For more information about the regulation of minors employed in Connecticut restaurants, see the Connecticut Employment of Minors posting, which must be displayed by restaurants employing workers under the age of 18 years.

For more information, download the free A Guide to Wage and Workplace Standards Division and Its Laws from Connecticut Department of Labor (CDOL) Wage and Workplace Standards Division (WWSD).

Vermont Goes In Big with $10.50 Minimum Wage

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In a nearly unanimous decision, the Vermont House of Representatives ended the 2014 legislative session with a 132-3 vote on a Bill (H.552) to increase the state’s minimum wage to $10.50 per hour by 2018. The $10.50 rate will give Vermont the highest state minimum wage in the U.S.

The legislation has yet to be signed by Governor Shumlin, but he has expressed his support for a minimum wage increase, although his preference was for an increase to $10.10 by 2017.

Vermont’s new minimum wage rate represents a 20 percent increase over the current rate of $8.73 per hour.

Vermont Minimum Wage to Increase in Stages to $10.50 by 2018

The minimum wage in Vermont will increase in stages beginning January 1, 2016 until it reaches the $10.50 level beginning January 1, 2018. Thereafter Vermont’s minimum wage will increase annually by five percent or the percentage increase of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) as determined by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Vermont General Assembly’s Back-and-Forth on the Minimum Wage Rate

The House previously had passed a version that raised the minimum wage to a lower rate of $10.10. The Vermont Senate returned that version with mark-up that introduced the $10.50 level, which was then passed by the House.

Both houses of Vermont’s General Assembly reached agreement on the rate that was lower than the minimum wage levels originally introduced in their earliest Bills: $12.00 in the Senate and $12.50 in the House.

Vermont Required Minimum Wage Posting

It’s still early days for the required minimum wage posting to be released by Vermont, but as always, the GovDocs Research Department will continue to monitor for posting revisions. GovDocs Update Program customers will automatically receive the latest posting as part of our Vermont State-on-One poster, Vermont Combined State and Federal poster, or the Vermont Electronic Set.