Ohio HB 494 (2018) and Constitution Section 34a bar Cleveland from setting a local minimum wage above the statewide rate, currently $10.70 per hour. A 2016 Cleveland $15 ballot drive was blocked before voters could decide.
Ohio Revised Code Section 4111 implements Ohio Constitution Article II Section 34a, indexing the state minimum wage annually for inflation; the 2026 non-tipped rate is $10.70 per hour for businesses grossing $385,000 or more. House Bill 494, signed in December 2016 and effective March 2017, expressly preempted municipal minimum-wage ordinances after Cleveland City Council placed a $15 measure on the ballot. The court-blocked initiative led council to withdraw, and Cleveland has since limited wage policy to its Ch. 189 living-wage contractor rules. Federal FLSA $7.25 also applies to small employers.
Any Cleveland ordinance attempting to raise minimum wage above the state rate is unenforceable. Wage theft below $10.70 is prosecuted by the Ohio Department of Commerce Bureau of Wage and Hour Administration.
Cleveland, OH
Cleveland's Fair Employment Wage Ordinance (Ch. 189) requires city service contractors and tax-abatement recipients to pay a living wage indexed to the feder...
Cleveland, OH
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See how Cleveland's minimum wage preemption rules stack up against other locations.
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