Monday, December 29, 2014

Happy New Year and New Minimum Wage

With the holiday season coming to an end, it will soon be a new year and a new minimum wage for employees in Ohio.   As of Thursday, the minimum wage for Ohio employees will rise to $8.10/hour.   According to §34a of Article II of the Ohio Constitution and Ohio Revised Code §4111.14, the FLSA governs who is considered to be an “employer” subject to Ohio’s minimum wage law (except that §34a also explicitly covers the state and all political subdivisions as well).   The official 2015 Ohio Minimum Wage poster – which should be hung conspicuously in all Ohio workplaces (that are subject to the law under Ohio Revised Code §4111.09) -- indicates that employers which gross less than $297,000 are not subject to Ohio’s minimum wage and can pay only the $7.25 federal minimum wage.    Tipped employees (i.e., those who customarily receive more than $30/month in tips) are entitled to only $4.05/hour.  Individuals who are not covered – or who are exempted -- by the federal and state minimum wage laws get paid only what they negotiate by contract.

Determining who is covered and who is exempted by the minimum wage laws sometimes requires a law degree and great patience to dig through ad hoc amendments to statutes and regulations.  Ohio Revised Code §4111.14 summarizes §34a in more detail, but still incorporates by broad reference the coverage provisions of the FLSA.  Section 203 of the FLSA provides that an “employer” ” includes any person acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an employee and includes a public agency, but does not include any labor organization (other than when acting as an employer) or anyone acting in the capacity of officer or agent of such labor organization“ and an “employee means any individual employed by an employer” with certain exceptions.   Section 206, however, which generally governs the federal minimum wage requirements, provides that employers are only required to pay the minimum wage to employees who are “engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, or is employed in an enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce.”  There are additional exceptions to this rule as well (as well as other ad hoc amendments that are beyond the scope of this posting).  

Earlier this year, an Ohio Court of Appeals held that Ohio Revised Code §4111.14(B)(1) [which incorporated the FLSA exemptions into Ohio law] was an unconstitutional attempt by the General Assembly to restrict §34a of the Ohio Constitution and declared it “invalid.”  Haight v. Cheap Escape Co., No. 2014-Ohio-2447.   This case is currently on appeal at the Ohio Supreme Court at Case No. 2014-1241
 
Unless an employer can prove that its enterprise – or a particular employee -- is exempt from the minimum wage laws, it is prudent to assume that the employer and/or the employee are covered.   In the last quarter of 2012, a Central Ohio employer found itself liable for $15,996.52 in unpaid minimum wages, $581.40 in unpaid overtime, and $33,155.84 in damages.  Goodman v. Cleland, 2012-Ohio-5044.  The court rejected the employer’s attempt on appeal to show that it was not subject to the overtime wage provisions.  Instead, the court treated the not-an-employer-under-the-statute argument as an affirmative defense – with the burden of proof on the employer.  (This case is a little confusing because the appellate court discusses at ¶ 23 the trial court’s refusal to consider the argument in a motion to dismiss because it was not specifically designated as an affirmative defense in the employer’s answer to the complaint even though the defendant denied being an employer under the statute.  Nonetheless, the appellate court then finds in the same paragraph that the employer waived the argument by failing to raise it again at the summary judgment stage). 

NOTICE: This summary is designed merely to inform and alert you of recent legal developments. It does not constitute legal advice and does not apply to any particular situation because different facts could lead to different results. Information here can change or be amended without notice. Readers should not act upon this information without legal advice. If you have any questions about anything you have read, you should consult with or retain an employment attorney.