To amend sections 4111.01, 4111.02, and 4111.10, to enact section 4111.14, and to repeal section 4111.08 of the Revised Code to implement Section 34a, Article II, of the Constitution of the State of Ohio and to declare an emergency.

Section 1.  That sections 4111.01, 4111.02, and 4111.10 be amended and section 4111.14 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 4111.01. (A) As used in sections 4111.01 to 4111.17 of the Revised Code this chapter:

(A)(1) "Wage" means compensation due to an employee by reason of employment, payable in legal tender of the United States or checks on banks convertible into cash on demand at full face value, subject to the deductions, charges, or allowances permitted by rules of the director of commerce under section 4111.05 of the Revised Code. "Wage" includes an employee's commissions of which the employee's employer keeps a record, but does not include gratuities, except as provided by rules issued under section 4111.05 of the Revised Code.

"Wage" also includes the reasonable cost to the employer of furnishing to an employee board, lodging, or other facilities, if the board, lodging, or other facilities are customarily furnished by the employer to the employer's employees. The cost of board, lodging, or other facilities shall not be included as part of wage to the extent excluded therefrom under the terms of a bona fide collective bargaining agreement applicable to the employee.

(2) "Occupation" means any occupation, service, trade, business, industry, or branch or group of industries or employment or class of employment in which individuals are employed.

(B) As used in section 4111.03 of the Revised Code:

(1) "Employ" means to suffer or to permit to work.

(C)(2) "Employer" means the state of Ohio, its instrumentalities, and its political subdivisions and their instrumentalities, any individual, partnership, association, corporation, business trust, or any person or group of persons, acting in the interest of an employer in relation to an employee, but does not include an employer whose annual gross volume of sales made for business done is less than one hundred fifty thousand dollars, exclusive of excise taxes at the retail level which are separately stated.

(D)(3) "Employee" means any individual employed by an employer but does not include:

(1)(a) Any individual employed by the United States;

(2)(b) Any individual employed as a baby-sitter in the employer's home, or a live-in companion to a sick, convalescing, or elderly person whose principal duties do not include housekeeping;

(3)(c) Any individual engaged in the delivery of newspapers to the consumer;

(4)(d) Any individual employed as an outside salesperson compensated by commissions or in a bona fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity as such terms are defined by the "Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938," 52 Stat. 1060, 29 U.S.C.A. 201, as amended;

(5)(e) Any employee employed in agriculture if the employee is employed by an employer who did not, during any calendar quarter during the preceding calendar year, use more than five hundred worker-days of agricultural labor, or if the employee is the parent, spouse, child, or other member of the employer's immediate family;

(6)(f) Any individual who works or provides personal services of a charitable nature in a hospital or health institution for which compensation is not sought or contemplated;

(7)(g) A member of a police or fire protection agency or student employed on a part-time or seasonal basis by a political subdivision of this state;

(8)(h) Any individual in the employ of a camp or recreational area for children under eighteen years of age and owned and operated by a nonprofit organization or group of organizations described in Section 501 (c)(3) of the "Internal Revenue Code of 1954," and exempt from income tax under Section 501 (a) of that code;

(9)(i) Any individual employed directly by the house of representatives or directly by the senate.

(E) "Occupation" means any occupation, service, trade, business, industry, or branch or group of industries or employment or class of employment in which individuals are employed.

Sec. 4111.02.  (A) Every employer and employers with less than one hundred fifty thousand dollars gross annual sales, as defined in Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution, shall pay each of the employer's employees at a wage rate of not less than the wage rate specified in the "Fair Labor Standards Act," 29 U.S.C. 206, as now or hereafter amended, beginning on the effective date of this amendment, except as otherwise provided in this section Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution.

(B) Every employer shall pay each employee in agriculture at a wage rate not less than the wage rate described in division (A) of this section. This provision does not apply to any employee employed in agriculture if the employee: (1)(a) is employed as a hand harvest laborer and is paid on a piece rate basis in an operation which has been, and is customarily and generally recognized as having been, paid on a piece rate basis in the region of employment, (b) commutes daily from the employee's permanent residence to the farm on which the employee is so employed, and (c) has been employed in agriculture less than thirteen weeks during the preceding calendar year, or (2)(a) is sixteen years of age or under, is employed as a hand harvest laborer, and is paid on a piece rate basis in an operation which has been, and is customarily and generally recognized as having been paid on a piece rate basis in the region of employment, (b) is employed on the same farm as the employee's parent or person standing in the place of the employee's parent, and (c) is paid at the same piece rate as employees over age sixteen are paid on the same farm. Such employees shall be paid no less than two dollars and eighty cents per hour.

(C) For any employee engaged in an occupation in which the employee customarily and regularly receives tips from patrons or others, the employer shall pay The director of commerce annually shall adjust the wage rate as specified for tipped employees in the "Fair Labor Standards Act," 29 U.S.C. 203, as now or hereafter amended in Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution.

Sec. 4111.10.  (A) Any employer who pays any employee less than wages to which the employee is entitled under sections 4111.01 to 4111.17 section 4111.03 of the Revised Code, is liable to the employee affected for the full amount of the overtime wage rate, less any amount actually paid to the employee by the employer, and for costs and reasonable attorney's fees as may be allowed by the court. Any agreement between the employee and the employer to work for less than the overtime wage rate is no defense to an action.

(B) At the written request of any employee paid less than the wages to which the employee is entitled under sections 4111.01 to 4111.17 section 4111.03 of the Revised Code, the director of commerce may take an assignment of a wage claim in trust for the assigning employee and may bring any legal action necessary to collect the claim. The employer shall pay the costs and reasonable attorney's fees allowed by the court.

Sec. 4111.14. (A) Pursuant to the general assembly's authority to establish a minimum wage under Section 34 of Article II, Ohio Constitution, this section is in implementation of Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution. In implementing Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution, the general assembly hereby finds that the purpose of Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution is to:

(1) Ensure that Ohio employees, as defined in division (B)(1) of this section, are paid the wage rate required by Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution;

(2) Ensure that covered Ohio employers maintain certain records that are directly related to the enforcement of the wage rate requirements in Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution;

(3) Ensure that Ohio employees who are paid the wage rate required by Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution may enforce their right to receive that wage rate in the manner set forth in Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution; and

(4) Protect the privacy of Ohio employees' pay and personal information specified in Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution by restricting an employee's access, and access by a person acting on behalf of that employee, to the employee's own pay and personal information.

(B) In accordance with Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution, the terms "employer," "employee," "employ," "person," and "independent contractor" have the same meanings as in the "Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938," 52 Stat. 1060, 29 U.S.C. 203, as amended. In construing the meaning of these terms, due consideration and great weight shall be given to the United States department of labor's and federal courts' interpretations of those terms under the Fair Labor Standards Act and its regulations. As used in division (B) of this section:

(1) "Employee" includes the exclusions contained in Title 42 United States Code section 203(e) and means individuals employed in Ohio. The term "employee" incorporates any applicable exemptions from the minimum wage requirements in the Fair Labor Standards Act and from the definition of "employee" in this chapter.

(2) "Employ" and "employee" do not include any person acting as a volunteer. In construing who is a volunteer, "volunteer" shall have the same meaning as in sections 553.101 to 553.106 of Title 29 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as amended, and due consideration and great weight shall be given to the United States department of labor's and federal courts' interpretations of the term "volunteer" under the Fair Labor Standards Act and its regulations.

(C) In accordance with Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution, the state may issue licenses to employers who are not subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act authorizing payment of a wage below that required by Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution to individuals with mental or physical disabilities that may otherwise adversely affect their opportunity for employment. In issuing such licenses, the state shall abide by the rules adopted pursuant to section 4111.06 of the Revised Code.

(D) In accordance with Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution, individuals employed in or about the property of an employer or an individual's residence on a casual basis are not included within the coverage of Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution. As used in division (D) of this section:

(1) "Casual basis" means employment that is irregular or intermittent and that is not performed by an individual whose vocation is to be employed in or about the property of the employer or individual's residence. In construing who is employed on a "casual basis," due consideration and great weight shall be given to the United States department of labor's and federal courts' interpretations of the term "casual basis" under the Fair Labor Standards Act and its regulations.

(2) "An individual employed in or about the property of an employer or individual's residence" means an individual employed on a casual basis or an individual employed in or about a residence on a casual basis, respectively.

(E) In accordance with Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution, an employer shall at the time of hire provide an employee with the employer's name, address, telephone number, and other contact information and update such information when it changes. As used in division (E) of this section:

(1) "Other contact information" may include, where applicable, the address of the employer's internet site on the world wide web, the employer's electronic mail address, fax number, or the name, address, and telephone number of the employer's statutory agent. "Other contact information" does not include the name, address, telephone number, fax number, internet site address, or electronic mail address of any employee, shareholder, officer, director, supervisor, manager, or other individual employed by or associated with an employer.

(2) "When it changes" means that the employer shall provide its employees with the change in its name, address, telephone number, or other contact information within sixty business days after the change occurs. The employer shall provide the changed information by using any of its usual methods of communicating with its employees, including, but not limited to, listing the change on the employer's internet site on the world wide web, internal computer network, or a bulletin board where it commonly posts employee communications or by insertion or inclusion with employees' paychecks or pay stubs.

(F) In accordance with Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution, an employer shall maintain a record of the name, address, occupation, pay rate, hours worked for each day worked, and each amount paid an employee for a period of not less than three years following the last date the employee was employed by that employer. As used in division (F) of this section:

(1) "Address" means an employee's home address as maintained in the employer's personnel file or personnel database for that employee.

(2)(a) With respect to employees who are not exempt from the overtime pay requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act or this chapter, "pay rate" means an employee's base rate of pay.

(b) With respect to employees who are exempt from the overtime pay requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act or this chapter, "pay rate" means an employee's annual base salary, but does not include bonuses, stock options, incentives, deferred compensation, or any other similar form of compensation.

(3) "Record" means the name, address, occupation, pay rate, hours worked for each day worked, and each amount paid an employee in one or more documents, databases, or other paper or electronic forms of record-keeping maintained by an employer. No one particular method or form of maintaining such a record or records is required under this division. An employer is not required to create or maintain a single record containing only the employee's name, address, occupation, pay rate, hours worked for each day worked, and each amount paid an employee. An employer shall maintain a record or records from which the employee or person acting on behalf of that employee could reasonably review the information requested by the employee or person.

An employer is not required to maintain the records specified in division (F)(3) of this section for any period before January 1, 2007. On and after January 1, 2007, the employer shall maintain the records required by division (F)(3) of this section for three years from the date the hours were worked by the employee.

(4)(a) With respect to employees who are not exempt from the overtime pay requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act or this chapter, "hours worked for each day worked" means the total amount of time worked by an employee in whatever increments the employer uses for its payroll purposes during a day worked by the employee. An employer is not required to keep a record of the time of day an employee begins and ends work on any given day. As used in division (F)(4) of this section, "day" means a fixed period of twenty-four consecutive hours during which an employee performs work for an employer.

(b) An employer is not required to keep records of "hours worked for each day worked" for employees who are exempt from the overtime pay requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act or this chapter.

(5) "Each amount paid an employee" means the total gross wages paid to an employee for each pay period. As used in division (F)(5) of this section, "pay period" means the period of time designated by an employer to pay an employee the employee's gross wages in accordance with the employer's payroll practices.

(G) In accordance with Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution, an employer must provide such information without charge to an employee or person acting on behalf of an employee upon request. As used in division (G) of this section:

(1) "Such information" means the name, address, occupation, pay rate, hours worked for each day worked, and each amount paid for the specific employee who has requested that specific employee's own information and does not include the name, address, occupation, pay rate, hours worked for each day worked, or each amount paid of any other employee of the employer.

(2) "Acting on behalf of an employee" means a person acting on behalf of an employee as any of the following:

(a) The certified or legally recognized collective bargaining representative for that employee under the applicable federal law or Chapter 4117. of the Revised Code;

(b) The employee's attorney;

(c) The employee's parent, guardian, or legal custodian.

A person "acting on behalf of an employee" must be specifically authorized by an employee in order to make a request for that employee's own name, address, occupation, pay rate, hours worked for each day worked, and each amount paid to that employee.

(3) "Provide" means that an employer shall provide the requested information within sixty business days after the date the employer receives the request, unless either of the following occurs:

(a) The employer and the employee or person acting on behalf of the employee agree to some alternative time period for providing the information.

(b) The sixty-day period would cause a hardship on the employer under the circumstances, in which case the employer must provide the requested information as soon as practicable.

(4) A "request" made by an employee or a person acting on behalf of an employee means a request by an employee or a person acting on behalf of an employee for the employee's own information. The employer may require that the employee provide the employer with a written request that has been signed by the employee and that specifically identifies the particular information being requested. The employer may require that the person acting on behalf of an employee provide the employer with a written request that has been signed by the employee whose information is being requested and notarized and that specifically identifies the particular information being requested.

(H) In accordance with Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution, an employee, person acting on behalf of one or more employees, and any other interested party may file a complaint with the state for a violation of any provision of Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution or any law or regulation implementing its provisions. Such complaint shall be promptly investigated and resolved by the state. The employee's name shall be kept confidential unless disclosure is necessary to resolution of a complaint and the employee consents to disclosure. As used in division (H) of this section:

(1) "Complaint" means a complaint of an alleged violation pertaining to harm suffered by the employee filing the complaint, by a person acting on behalf of one or more employees, or by an interested party.

(2) "Acting on behalf of one or more employees" has the same meaning as "acting on behalf of an employee" in division (G)(2) of this section. Each employee must provide a separate written and notarized authorization before the person acting on that employee's or those employees' behalf may request the name, address, occupation, pay rate, hours worked for each day worked, and each amount paid for the particular employee.

(3) "Interested party" means a party who alleges to be injured by the alleged violation and who has standing to file a complaint under common law principles of standing.

(4) "Resolved by the state" means that the complaint has been resolved to the satisfaction of the state.

(5) "Shall be kept confidential" means that the state shall keep the name of the employee confidential as required by division (H) of this section.

(I) In accordance with Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution, the state may on its own initiative investigate an employer's compliance with Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution and any law or regulation implementing Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution. The employer shall make available to the state any records related to such investigation and other information required for enforcement of Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution or any law or regulation implementing Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution. As used in division (I) of this section:

(1) "Records related to such investigation and other information required" means the records and information pertaining to the employee or employees who filed the complaint or on whose behalf the complaint was filed with the state. All records and information related to investigations by the state are confidential and are not a public record subject to section 149.43 of the Revised Code.

(2) "Complaint" has the same meaning as in division (H)(1) of this section.

(J) In accordance with Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution, damages shall be calculated as an additional two times the amount of the back wages and in the case of a violation of an anti-retaliation provision an amount set by the state or court sufficient to compensate the employee and deter future violations, but not less than one hundred fifty dollars for each day that the violation continued. The "not less than one hundred fifty dollar" penalty specified in division (J) of this section shall be imposed only for violations of the anti-retaliation provision in Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution.

(K) In accordance with Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution, an action for equitable and monetary relief may be brought against an employer by the attorney general and/or an employee or person acting on behalf of an employee or all similarly situated employees in any court of competent jurisdiction, including the court of common pleas of an employee's county of residence, for any violation of Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution or any law or regulation implementing its provisions within three years of the violation or of when the violation ceased if it was of a continuing nature, or within one year after notification to the employee of final disposition by the state of a complaint for the same violation, whichever is later.

(1) As used in division (K) of this section, "notification" means the date on which the notice was sent to the employee by the state.

(2) No employee shall join as a party plaintiff in any civil action that is brought under division (K) of this section by an employee, person acting on behalf of an employee, or person acting on behalf of all similarly situated employees unless that employee first gives written consent to become such a party plaintiff and that consent is filed with the court in which the action is brought.

(3) A civil action regarding an alleged violation of this section shall be maintained only under division (K) of this section. The civil action specified in division (K) of this section supersedes the civil action specified in section 4111.10 of the Revised Code with respect to any alleged violations of this section.

(L) In accordance with Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution, there shall be no exhaustion requirement, no procedural, pleading, or burden of proof requirements beyond those that apply generally to civil suits in order to maintain such action and no liability for costs or attorney's fees on an employee except upon a finding that such action was frivolous in accordance with the same standards that apply generally in civil suits. Nothing in division (L) of this section affects the right of an employer and employee to agree to submit a dispute under this section to alternative dispute resolution, including, but not limited to, arbitration, in lieu of maintaining the civil suit specified in division (K) of this section.

(M) An employer who provides such information specified in Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution, shall be immune from any civil liability for injury, death, or loss to person or property that otherwise might be incurred or imposed as a result of providing that information to an employee or person acting on behalf of an employee in response to a request by the employee or person, and the employer shall not be subject to the provisions of Chapters 1347. and 1349. of the Revised Code to the extent that such provisions would otherwise apply. As used in division (M) of this section, "such information," "acting on behalf of an employee," and "request" have the same meanings as in division (G) of this section.

(N) As used in this section, "the state" means the director of commerce.

Section 2.  That existing sections 4111.01, 4111.02, and 4111.10 and section 4111.08 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.

Section 3.  This act is hereby declared to be an emergency measure necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety. The reason for the necessity is that immediate action is necessary to ensure the timely and proper implementation of Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution, described in Section 1 of this act. Therefore, this act shall go into immediate effect.

Section 4.  If any item of law that constitutes the whole or part of a codified or uncodified section of law contained in this act, or if any application of any item of law that constitutes the whole or part of a codified or uncodified section of law contained in this act, is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other items of law or applications of items of law that can be given effect without the invalid item of law or application. To this end, the items of law of which the codified and uncodified sections of law contained in this act are composed, and their applications, are independent and severable.