Big Win for Business: Pre-emption of Municipal Wage and Hour Laws

The General Assembly passed Senate Bill 331, a beneficial bill which will prohibit municipalities from passing wage and hour laws that differ from the state laws.

The OMA provided testimony that noted the bill will “prohibit local governments from establishing minimum wage rates different from the rate required by state law and granting private employers exclusive authority to establish policies concerning job related issues, such as hours and location of work, scheduling and fringe benefits.”

Several Ohio cities have been considering municipal minimum wage laws, laws that regulate “predictive scheduling,” and other constraints on employer’s ability to manage human resources productively.  If successful, these municipal laws would have confronted Ohio employers with an unmanageable hodge-podge of local labor laws.  12/8/2016