Some of the lowest paid workers in Ohio could see a significant wage increase over the next four years, if a proposal from a Republican lawmaker is successful.
Ohio state legislators convened on Tuesday to begin hearings on state Sen. Louis "Bill" Blessing's plan to raise the state's minimum wage to $15 by 2028, amid a rising unemployment rate in the Buckeye State. At 3.7 percent, it remains lower than the national average.
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Currently, non-tipped Ohio workers can expect to earn $10.45 an hour, whilst the minimum wage for tipped workers in the state is $5.25.
Under the new proposals, these figures would rise to $15 and $7.50 for non-tipped and tipped workers respectively.
Advocacy group One Fair Wage has called for the same revision of Ohio's minimum wage, but are pushing for $15 for both groups, and the change to come into effect by 2026.
The group is gathering signatures to get its proposal on the ballot in November.
Newsweek contacted One Fair Wage for comment by email.
A $15 minimum wage could affect 1.6 million Ohio workers, according to non-profit research institute Policy Matters Ohio.
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Speaking to Newsweek via email, Blessing said: "There is currently a ballot initiative underway to put a $15 minimum wage in the constitution. I believe that this would pass, but will have unintended consequences, namely unemployment.
"I want to meet the voters where they are while minimizing the harmful aspects. This would be accomplished with legislation that [gets to] $15 at a slower pace, which should soften unemployment, while using progressive tax policy in the form of refundable Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) to target aid to low income worker[s]."
John Barker, President and CEO of The Ohio Restaurant and Hospitality Alliance told Cincinnati television station WKRC that Blessing's proposal, as opposed to One Fair Wage's ballot initiative, "would allow small businesses to get their businesses lined up with these increases on the labor lines."
Ohio has a cost-of-living index score of 94.7, according to a study by the Missouri Economic Research and Information Center, which compared prices for goods and services on a state-by-state basis. The national benchmark was 100.
The state sits roughly in the middle of the minimum-wage table, with 26 states and Washington, D.C. all offering a higher amount, according to the National Conference of State Legislators.
The NCSL analysis showed that the U.S. capital offered the highest minimum wage, at $17 as of April 9, whilst 20 states all paid the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour.
According to Statista, the U.S. national minimum wage ranked 17th when compared to 38 other OECD countries.
The same report from Statista found that France was the country with the highest minimum wage, with low paid workers being able to expect the equivalent of $13.80 for each hour they worked. Australia and Luxembourg followed closely behind at $13.60.
The District of Columbia offered the highest minimum wage in the U.S., at $16.50, whilst Georgia and Wyoming were the two states with the lowest, at $5.15 per hour.
Malta offered the least competitive minimum wage of the OECD countries featured in the report, with only $1.50 per hour for its minimum wage workers.
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Update, 5/8/24, 3:47 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from state Sen. Bill Blessing.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Joe Edwards is a Live News Reporter in Newsweek's London bureau.
