Every fall, Ohio quietly resets the floor under a lot of paychecks. The Ohio Department of Commerce has announced that the Ohio minimum wage for 2027 will be $11.40 an hour for non-tipped workers and $5.70 an hour for tipped workers, starting January 1. The raise follows a formula Ohio voters wrote into the state constitution in 2006, which ties the minimum wage to inflation every year. Roughly 150,000 Ohioans earn the minimum wage, by the Ohio Chamber of Commerce's estimate, and many more earn just above it.
A raise of a few dimes an hour is easy to miss on a pay stub. So are the tricks that shave pay when the rate changes: a payroll system nobody updated, tips that don't cover the gap, prep work done off the clock, and "salaried" labels that make overtime disappear. If you work in Canton, Massillon, North Canton, or anywhere else in Ohio, here is what the 2027 rate means and how to check whether you are actually getting it.
Klie Law Offices helps Ohio workers recover unpaid wages from our Canton, Ohio office. If something on your paycheck looks wrong, a free case evaluation costs you nothing.
Ohio Minimum Wage 2027 at a Glance
| Rate | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Non-tipped minimum wage | $11.00 per hour | $11.40 per hour |
| Tipped cash wage | $5.50 per hour | $5.70 per hour |
| Applies to employers with annual gross receipts of more than | $405,000 | $420,000 |
The numbers come from Article II, Section 34a of the Ohio Constitution. Each year the state measures inflation using the Consumer Price Index for urban wage earners and clerical workers, adjusts the rate, and announces it by September 30. The new rate takes effect on January 1. No Ohio city or county can set its own minimum wage, so the state figure applies from Stark County to Cincinnati.
Who Gets the State Rate, and Who Doesn't?
Ohio's rate covers most workers, but not all of them.
- Employees of larger businesses. If your employer's annual gross receipts are above the threshold in the table, you are owed the full state rate.
- Employees of smaller businesses. Workers 16 and older at employers under the threshold are owed at least the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour.
- 14- and 15-year-olds. The state rate does not apply to them. The federal minimum does.
- Tipped workers. Servers, bartenders, and others who regularly earn tips can be paid the lower cash wage, but only if tips bring them up to the full minimum wage every workweek.
Most workers never see their employer's gross receipts. If you are unsure which rule applies to you, that is a fair question to ask a lawyer rather than the manager who writes your schedule.
Tipped Workers: The Gap Your Employer Has to Fill
If you wait tables at a restaurant near Belden Village or tend bar downtown, your employer can pay you the tipped cash wage and count your tips toward the rest. That is called a tip credit, and it comes with a catch for the employer. If your tips plus your cash wage fall short of the full minimum wage in any workweek, the employer has to make up the difference.
Slow weeks are where this breaks down. A snowy January Tuesday, a closed patio, a manager who never runs the numbers. Check your weekly pay against your hours. If your cash wage plus tips, divided by the hours you worked, comes out under the full state rate, you are owed the difference.
It also matters who touches the tip pool. Under federal law, employers, including managers and supervisors, cannot keep any part of employees' tips. If a manager is dipping into the pool, that money belongs to you and your coworkers.
Five Paycheck Problems That Show Up in January
A new year and a new rate are when payroll mistakes pile up. Watch for these:
- The rate never changes. Hours worked on or after January 1 should be paid at the new rate. If your first full January check still shows $11.00, ask about it in writing.
- Tip credits that don't add up. A few short weeks a year can add up to real money that you are owed.
- Work done off the clock. Opening checklists, closing duties, and required training all count as hours worked. If you are told to clock out and keep going, that time is unpaid wages.
- Overtime math errors. Hourly workers are owed time and a half after 40 hours in a workweek. When the base rate goes up, the overtime rate goes up with it. Learn more about unpaid overtime.
- Deductions that push you under the minimum. Charges for uniforms, register shortages, or breakage cannot drop your pay below the legal minimum.
Ohio's pay stub law makes these problems easier to spot. Since April 2025, Ohio employers have been required to give workers an itemized statement showing hours, rates, and deductions. If you are not getting one, that is a problem in itself.
Is "Salaried" Being Used to Dodge Overtime?
When the minimum wage rises, some employers try to keep labor costs flat by calling hourly jobs "salaried." A salary alone does not make you exempt from overtime. For most jobs, federal and Ohio law also look at what you actually do all day. An assistant manager who spends most of the shift running a register or stocking shelves may be owed overtime even with a salary and a title.
If you work 45 or 50 hours a week for a flat salary and your duties look a lot like the hourly staff's, have your situation checked. Misclassification claims can be worth far more than the annual minimum wage raise.
What to Do If You Think You're Being Underpaid
- Keep your own record of your hours, including start and stop times and any work before clocking in or after clocking out.
- Save every pay stub, and screenshot any app-based schedules or time records before they disappear.
- Raise it in writing if you feel comfortable. A short, polite email creates a record.
- Know that retaliation is illegal. Ohio law and federal law protect workers who complain about minimum wage and overtime violations. Losing shifts or getting fired for asking is its own claim. Read more about employer retaliation.
- Talk to a lawyer before time runs out. Wage claims have deadlines, and every paycheck you wait on can age out.
Ohio law allows workers to recover back pay and, in many cases, additional damages on top of it, plus attorney fees. Hourly workers in restaurants, retail, warehouses, home health, and call centers are often owed more than they think. Our hourly worker lawyers can look at your stubs and tell you quickly whether the math is wrong.
What About West Virginia?
West Virginia's minimum wage works differently. It is set by statute rather than an automatic inflation formula, and it has stayed at $8.75 an hour since 2016. A bill to raise it did not pass in the 2026 session. West Virginia also allows employers to take a larger tip credit than Ohio does. If you live in the Mid-Ohio Valley and cross the river for work, near our Parkersburg office, the state where you actually do the work usually controls which minimum wage applies.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Ohio minimum wage in 2027?
Starting January 1, 2027, Ohio's minimum wage is $11.40 an hour for non-tipped workers and $5.70 an hour for tipped workers. It applies to employers with annual gross receipts above $420,000. Smaller employers must pay at least the federal $7.25.
When does the new Ohio minimum wage take effect?
January 1, 2027. The rate applies to hours worked on or after that date, so your first paycheck of the year may include some hours at the old rate and some at the new one.
Can my employer pay me less than minimum wage because I get tips?
Only if your tips make up the difference. Your employer can pay the lower tipped cash wage, but if your tips plus that wage fall below the full minimum in any workweek, your employer owes you the shortfall.
Can I be fired for complaining about my pay?
No. Ohio law and federal wage law both prohibit retaliation against workers who raise minimum wage or overtime concerns. If you were cut from the schedule or fired after speaking up, you may have a separate retaliation claim.
How far back can I recover unpaid wages in Ohio?
It depends on the type of claim and whether the violation was willful. The time limits generally run a few years, which is why it pays to act quickly. A lawyer can tell you which deadline applies to your situation.
Get Your Paycheck Checked for Free
You earned every hour on that stub. If your employer is rounding down, skipping the new rate, or leaning on tips to cover what it owes, you do not have to accept it, and you do not have to fight it alone. Since 2005, Klie Law Offices has helped more than 5,000 individuals and families, and every client gets a paralegal assigned to their case who is usually reachable during business hours.
Request your free case evaluation or book an appointment online, and bring your last few pay stubs. Founding attorney Erika Klie Kolenich built this firm to stand up for working people. We serve workers from Canton and from our West Virginia offices in Buckhannon, Clarksburg, and Morgantown. Explore our full employment law practice.
