MOUNT VERNON – The minimum wage in Ohio increased by 10 cents on Jan. 1 of this year to $8.80 an hour for employees who don’t receive tips.
But for The Original Dave’s Cosmic Subs on South Main Street in Mount Vernon, the change made no difference.
“Everyone here is already getting paid above that,” General Manager Jess Barron told the Mount Vernon News. “It won’t impact us at all.”
Ohio’s minimum wage is $1.55 an hour higher than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour.
Under a constitutional amendment enacted by Ohio voters in 2006, the minimum wage — which applies to companies with gross receipts of $319,000 — is tied to the Consumer Price Index. From Sept. 1, 2019, to Aug. 31, 2020, the index rose by 1.4%, the State said in a news release.
The Ohio Department of Commerce does not track how many Ohioans will receive a raise as a result of the Jan. 1 increase, spokesman Brian Bohnert told the News.
At Dave’s Cosmic Subs, which opened almost three years ago in Mount Vernon, the restaurant pays more to ensure high-quality, long-term employees.
“Seventy-five percent of my staff has been here since we opened,” Barron said. “We haven’t had much turnover at all. We like to try to find someone who is going to value their job — and show that we appreciate them for doing a good job. So we always like to pay a little above average.”
The restaurant closed for 35 days after the COVID-19 pandemic hit last March. It has remained open since.
While the Ohio minimum wage steadily increases with inflation, the federal minimum wage has not increased since 2009.
But that could soon change. President-elect Joe Biden said he will ask Congress to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, a release issued on the CNBC website reported.
“Nobody working 40 hours a week should be living below the poverty line,” he said in the release.
