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Minimum Wage Violations

Columbus Ohio Minimum Wage Attorneys

Ohio Minimum Wage Lawyers Fight to Make Sure Workers are Paid the Wages they Earned

It seems simple enough. The law requires everybody to be paid at least minimum wage. How could employers get that wrong? It turns out there are a lot of ways companies can and do violate the minimum wage laws. Our Columbus Ohio minimum wage attorneys takes on Ohio businesses that fail to follow the law regardless of their intent. Learn more below about minimum wages in Ohio, and contact Coffman Legal if your employer is breaking the law regarding your wages.

Wage & Hour

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How much is the minimum wage?

The minimum wage in Ohio was $8.55 an hour in 2019, it increased to $8.70 an hour in 2020, and $8.80 in 2021. For tipped employees, employers may pay a minimum wage of $4.30 an hour in 2019, $4.35 an hour in 2020, and $4.40 in 2021 – this is always set at approximately half of the full minimum wage rate. The Ohio minimum wage is significantly higher than the federal minimum wage, which is still at $7.25 an hour in general and $2.13 an hour for tipped employees. Most Ohio companies must pay their workers the Ohio minimum wage, but there are some exceptions. Businesses with revenues under $314,000 a year need only meet the federal minimum wage. Starting in 2020, this revenue threshold will be $319,000. Also, companies that legally employ 14 and 15 -year-olds only have to pay those workers the federal minimum wage.

Are all employees guaranteed a minimum wage?

Ohio law does exempt a variety of employees from the minimum wage requirement. Employees who do not have to be paid the minimum wage include:

  • Workers employed by the United States
  • Baby-sitters
  • A live-in companion to a sick, convalescing, or elderly person, if their principal duties do not include housekeeping
  • Newspaper delivery persons
  • Charity workers in a hospital
  • Police officers or firefighters
  • Students working for the government on a part-time or seasonal basis
  • Employees working at a nonprofit camp for children
  • Any individual employed directly by the house of representatives or directly by the senate
  • A person who workers for a motor carrier transporting property, if certain factors apply

How do employers break the minimum wage law?

Employers may run into issues with paying the minimum wage if they do not properly pay the required minimum wage, they do not pay any wages for a period of time, or they make deductions from employees’ pay that lower the employees’ rate of pay below the minimum wage. In addition, an employer may wrongly conclude that an employee is not entitled to the minimum wage or pay employees at the federal level instead of the Ohio minimum wage rate. Employers may also take the wrong tip credit for tipped employees, putting their pay below the applicable minimum wage. These are just some of the ways employers run afoul of the law requiring the payment of a minimum wage. Minimum wage violations are common in industries such as hotel and restaurant workers, among others. Ohio law frowns upon employers who do not pay the minimum wage. If you were not paid at least the applicable minimum wage, you could file a claim to recover the amount of unpaid wages plus two times such damages as liquidated damages, as well as have your attorney’s fees paid by the other party. Attorney Matthew Coffman regularly takes on employers on behalf of large classes of employees who have been underpaid because of minimum wage violations.

Our Ohio Wage Lawyers are Available for Minimum Wage Violations in Ohio

If you think you are not being paid appropriately and may not be receiving the minimum wage you are entitled to, call Coffman Legal at 614-949-1181 for a free consultation with our experienced and successful Columbus Ohio minimum wage & unpaid overtime attorneys.

I cannot say enough great things about Matt. He, along with my other attorney, fought tirelessly for me for almost 3 years and in the end, VICTORY!!!!!!! I would absolutely recommend Matt for anyone that needs help with any employment issue. Thank you so much Matt!

– M. Rangel

This firm is very professional, informative, and responsive. I would recommend them to anyone. They are very successful in what they do. Thank you.

– M. Satterly

I was completely impressed with Coffman Legal. They very quickly were able to resolve my case in my favor with a sizable agreement. They were very professional, took the time to explain matters and very timely in their follow up. If you need to get a good employment attorney-this is the group to utilize.

– K. Payne

They assisted with a lawsuit that affected hundreds, if not thousands, of employees who weren’t getting paid their proper wages & they were able to come through in the end and make sure that we were all reimbursed the money that terrible company owed to us.

– S. Paxson

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