The online versions of legislation provided on this website are not official. Enrolled bills are the final version passed by the Ohio General Assembly and presented to the Governor for signature. The official version of acts signed by the Governor are available from the Secretary of State's Office in the Continental Plaza, 180 East Broad St., Columbus.
|
H. B. No. 502 As IntroducedAs Introduced
130th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2013-2014 |
| |
Representatives Foley, Hagan, R.
Cosponsors:
Representatives Williams, Driehaus, Mallory, Ramos, Lundy, Boyce, Antonio
A BILL
To amend sections 4111.02, 4111.09, and 4111.14 and
to repeal section 4111.07 of the Revised Code to
increase the state minimum wage to ten dollars and
ten cents an hour beginning January 1, 2015.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 4111.02, 4111.09, and 4111.14 of
the Revised Code be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 4111.02. Every (A)(1) Except as otherwise provided in
division (A)(2) of this section, beginning January 1, 2015, every
employer, 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 Section 34a of
Article II, Ohio Constitution ten dollars and ten cents per hour.
(2) If an employer is able to demonstrate that an employee
receives tips that combined with the wages paid by the employer
are equal to or greater than the minimum wage rate for all hours
worked, the employer may pay the employee at a rate of less than,
but not less than half, the minimum wage rate required by division
(A)(1) of this section.
(B) The director of commerce annually shall adjust the wage
rate as specified in division (A)(1) of this section in accordance
with Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution.
(C) As used in this section, "employee" has the same meaning
as in section 4111.14 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 4111.09. Every employer subject to sections 4111.01 to
4111.17 of the Revised Code, or to any rules issued thereunder,
shall keep a summary of the sections, approved by the director of
commerce, and copies of any applicable rules issued thereunder, or
a summary of the rules, posted in a conspicuous and accessible
place in or about the premises wherein any person subject thereto
is employed. The director of commerce shall make the summary
described in this section available on the web site of the
department of commerce. The director shall update this summary as
necessary, but not less than annually, in order to reflect changes
in the minimum wage rate as required under Section 34a of Article
II, Ohio Constitution and section 4111.02 of the Revised Code.
Employees and employers shall be furnished copies of the summaries
and rules by the state, on request, without charge.
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
4111.02 of the Revised Code in accordance with 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 of Section 34a of Article II, Ohio
Constitution and section 4111.02 of the Revised Code;
(3) Ensure that Ohio employees who are paid the wage rate
required by Section 34a of Article II, Ohio Constitution section
4111.02 of the Revised Code, 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" means individuals employed in Ohio, but does
not mean individuals who are excluded from the definition of
"employee" under 29 U.S.C. 203(e) or individuals who are exempted
from the minimum wage requirements in 29 U.S.C. 213 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
authorizing payment of a wage below that required by Section 34a
of Article II, Ohio Constitution, or section 4111.02 of the
Revised Code 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)(1) 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:
(a) "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.
(b) "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.
(2) In accordance with Section 34a of Article II, Ohio
Constitution, employees of a solely family-owned and operated
business who are family members of an owner are not included
within the coverage of Section 34a of Article II, Ohio
Constitution. As used in division (D)(2) of this section, "family
member" means a parent, spouse, child, stepchild, sibling,
grandparent, grandchild, or other member of an owner's immediate
family.
(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 or
other rate of pay by which the particular employee qualifies for
that exemption under the Fair Labor Standards Act or this chapter,
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 and for
three years after the date the employee's employment ends.
(4)(a) Except for individuals specified in division (F)(4)(b)
of this section, "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 individuals for whom the employer
is not required to keep those records under the Fair Labor
Standards Act and its regulations or individuals who are not
subject to the overtime pay requirements specified in section
4111.03 of the Revised Code.
(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 under
section 4113.15 of the Revised Code.
(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. "Such
information" does not include hours worked for each day worked by
individuals for whom an employer is not required to keep that
information under the Fair Labor Standards Act and its regulations
or individuals who are not subject to the overtime pay
requirements specified in section 4111.03 of the Revised Code.
(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 thirty 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 thirty-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 notarized and that reasonably specifies 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 reasonably specifies 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. The
state shall investigate an employer's compliance with this section
in accordance with the procedures described in section 4111.04 of
the Revised Code. 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. This
division does not prevent the state from releasing to or
exchanging with other state and federal wage and hour regulatory
authorities information related to investigations.
(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. This division does not preclude the joinder in a single
civil action of an action under this division and an action under
section 4111.10 of the Revised Code.
(4) Any agreement between an employee and employer to work
for less than the wage rate specified in Section 34a of Article
II, Ohio Constitution section 4111.02 of the Revised Code, is no
defense to an action under 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. Nothing in this
division limits the state's ability to investigate or enforce 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 4111.02, 4111.09, and
4111.14 and section 4111.07 of the Revised Code are hereby
repealed.
|
|