Western-Star.com

COLUMBUS — Ohio's minimum wage will increase to $7 an hour on Jan. 1 for non-tipped employees — up 15 cents from the current $6.85 an hour, the state Commerce Department announced Wednesday.

The minimum wage for tipped employees will increase from $3.43 an hour to $3.50 an hour.

The changes are triggered by the constitutional amendment Ohio voters approved in November 2006. The amendment set the state minimum wage at $6.85 and hour and stated that the minimum wage will increase each Jan. 1 by the rate of inflation.

Not everybody falls under the state minimum wage, however. Currently, the state minimum applies to employees of employers grossing more than $250,000 annually. Starting Jan. 1, that threshold will increase to $255,000 a year. Employees who work for companies under the threshold — and those who are under 16 — fall under the federal minimum wage of $5.85 an hour. That minimum increases to $6.55 beginning July 24, 2008.

The inflation adjustment for the state minimum wage is based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for urban wage earners and clerical workers for the 12-month period ending Sept. 30. The CPI rose 2 percent from Oct. 1, 2006, to Sept. 30. The amendment says that the wage increase is to be rounded off to the nearest 5 cents.