Minimum Wage Amendment Passes Hurdle In Ohio

COLUMBUS, OH — An amendment proposal which would raise Ohio's minimum wage to $13 an hour by 2025 was certified by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost on Monday. For the amendment to appear on November ballots, petitioners will need to clear the Ohio Ballot Board and then collect nearly 443,000 signatures.

"Without passing on the advisability of the approval or rejection of the measure...I hereby certify that the summary is a fair and truthful statement of the proposed amendment," Attorney General Dave Yost said in the letter certifying the petition.

If the proposal were to be passed by voters, Ohio's minimum wage would increase to $9.60 an hour on Jan. 1, 2021 and then increase incrementally for four years, until it reach $13 an hour on Jan. 1, 2025.

The amendment would also mandate that state minimum wage be tethered to any increased in the federal minimum wage and would need to rise with inflation.

The proposed amendment is being supported by several statewide unions, including SEIU 1199, according to Dayton Daily News.

Ohio voters previously supported an increase in minimum wage in 2006.