(The Center Square) – The Ohio Chamber of Commerce says a proposed constitutional amendment that would increase the minimum wage in Ohio will hurt small businesses already struggling across the state.
The plan, which received approval from the Ohio Ballot Board on Monday to move ahead with collecting signatures, drew criticism from Chamber CEO Steve Stivers, who called it ill-advised and warned of potential after-effects.
“The Ohio Chamber of Commerce believes that free-market forces result in appropriate wages for workers. Ohio already has a minimum wage which is indexed for inflation. The results of this ballot initiative will be more automation, less jobs and picking winners and losers; it punishes some of the very people it purports to help,” Stivers said.
Ohio’s current minimum-wage grew to $10.10 per hour for non-tipped employees and $5.05 for tipped employees at the beginning of the year.
The rate is linked to the Consumer Price Index to raise the pay along with inflation. The hourly rate gets reevaluated each year.
The proposed amendment, which organizers say likely won’t appear on the statewide ballot until 2024, would raise the minimum wage starting Jan. 1, 2025. It would then increase for the following three years until it reaches $15 an hour Jan. 1, 2028. Minimum wage increases after that would be tied to inflation rates based on the consumer price index, as previously reported by The Center Square.
“The proposed minimum wage amendment to the Ohio Constitution is not only ill-advised and economically detrimental, it would be next to impossible to correct once the unintended consequences transpire,” Stivers said.
The Ballot Board approval lets One Fair Wage begin gathering the needed 413,487 signatures from qualified electors. Signatures must be from half, or more, of the state’s 88 counties. In those 44 counties, they must get eligible signatures equaling at least 5% of the gubernatorial vote total from that county.
Currently, a proposed constitutional amendment needs a 50%-plus-one vote total to become law in the state. However, Republican lawmakers continue to push a plan spearheaded by Secretary of State Frank LaRose to change the number needed to 60%, as previously reported by The Center Square.
