By Lei Jiang, Esq., Lei Jiang LLC.
If you run a restaurant in Ohio, three wage numbers decide most disputes: $11.00, $5.50, and time-and-a-half. Get any of them wrong and you can owe back pay plus more.
Here are the 2026 Ohio figures. The standard minimum wage is $11.00 per hour. For tipped employees, the employer may pay $5.50 per hour in direct wages — but only if the employee’s tips bring total pay to at least $11.00 per hour. If tips fall short, the employer must make up the difference. And overtime is 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. Note that Ohio counts overtime by the week, not by the day: a 12-hour shift alone does not trigger overtime unless the week’s total passes 40.
Two habits prevent most claims. First, keep daily records: each employee’s hours worked, tips received, and wages paid. When a dispute arises, the records usually decide it — and missing records hurt the employer, not the employee. Second, never pay a flat daily rate or a salary that quietly drops below the minimum once hours are counted. A “salary” that works out to less than $11.00 per hour, or tips that don’t reach the threshold, is a violation even if the employee agreed to it.
One more trap: tips belong to the employees. An owner or manager may not take a share of the tip pool, even in a slow week. And recheck the rates each January — Ohio adjusts its minimum wage annually, so this year’s numbers will eventually be out of date.
The practical takeaway: check your payroll against $11.00, $5.50 plus tip top-up, and 1.5 times over 40 hours — and keep daily time and tip records to prove it.
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This article is general information, not legal advice for your situation.