Ohio Senators Propose $15 Minimum Wage by 2029

A pair of Ohio Democratic state Senators are trying to raise Ohio’s minimum wage to US$15 per hour. Proposed last month, Senate Bill 234 would raise the minimum wage by a dollar per hour each year until reaching $15 per hour in 2029starting at $12 on Jan. 1, 2026.

Ohio’s minimum wage is currently $10.70 per hour for non-tipped employees and $5.35 per hour for tipped employees. The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour. 

The bill would also eliminate the tipped employee minimum wage and require all employees to be paid the state’s minimum wage.

Lawmakers have until Friday, Jan. 29, to sign onto the legislation.

This is not the first time Sen. Kent Smith and Sen. Hearcel Craig have introduced a bill that would increase the minimum wage.

The duo introduced a bill during the last general assembly that would have raised the minimum wage up to $15 an hour in 2027, but it only was given time for sponsor testimony.  

Ohioans passed a constitutional amendment in 2006 that increases the state minimum wage every year based on the consumer price index. 

Ohio House Democrats have also introduced Ohio House Bill 34, which would increase the state’s minimum wage gradually per year too. Yet, SB 234 would get to $15 per hour one year before HB 34. 

According to a report by the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio and the National Low Income Housing Coalition, Ohioans need to be making at least $22.51 an hour working a full-time job to be able to afford a “modest” two-bedroom apartment.

Eleven states and Washington, D.C. have minimum wages of $15 or more, according to Paycom. As CMM previously reported, the minimum wage increased in 15 states and cities in July, including major cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.