Minimum Wage

Ohio’s current minimum wage is $7.85 for employers whose gross receipts are greater than $283,000. OH Div. of Labor: Minumum Wage Laws; OH Minimum Wage Poster. The minimum wage will increase to $7.85 on January 1, 2013 for employers whose gross receipts are greater than $288,000. The minimum wage rate from employers with gross receipts below the statutory threshold is $7.25, the federal minimum wage rate. Some exceptions apply to Ohio’s minimum wage requirements.

An employer must also comply with federal minimum wage laws, which currently sets the federal minimum wage at $7.25. See FLSA: Minimum Wage.

If an employer chooses to pay employees minimum wage, the employer must pay those employees in accordance with the minimum wage law, either federal or state, that results in the employees being paid the higher wage.

Overtime

Ohio requires an employer to pay overtime to employees, unless otherwise exempt, at the rate of 1½ times the employee’s regular rate of pay for all hours worked in excess of 40 hours in a workweek. OH Div. of Labor: Minumum Wage Laws. See FLSA: Overtime for more information regarding overtime requirements.

Meals and Breaks

Ohio employers must provide employees under the age of eighteen (18) a 30-minute uninterrupted break when working more than five (5) consecutive hours. Ohio Rev. Code 4109.07(C).

Ohio does not require employers to provide breaks, including lunch breaks, for workers eighteen (18) years old or older. An employer who chooses to provide a break in excess of twenty (20) minutes does not have to pay wages for lunch periods or other breaks if the employee is free to leave the worksite, in fact takes their lunch or break, and the employee does not actually perform work. According to federal law, breaks twenty (20) minutes or shorter typically must be paid. DOL: Breaks and Meal Periods.

Vacation Leave

In Ohio, employers are not required to provide employees with vacation benefits, either paid or unpaid. If an employer chooses to provide such benefits, it must comply with the terms of its established policy or employment contract.

An employer may lawfully establish a policy or enter into a contract denying employees payment for accrued vacation leave upon separation from employment, so long as the forfeiture policy is clear and explicit and the employees have notice of the policy. See Ervin v. Oak Ridge Treatment Center Acquisition Corp., 2006 Ohio 3851 (OH App. 2006).

An employer may also lawfully establish a policy or enter into a contract disqualifying employees from payment of accrued vacation upon separation from employment if they fail to comply with specific requirements, such as giving two weeks notice or being employed as of a specific date of the year, so long as the forfeiture policy is clear and explicit and the employees have notice of the policy. See Ervin v. Oak Ridge Treatment Center Acquisition Corp., 2006 Ohio 3851 (OH App. 2006).

An employer is required to pay accrued vacation to an employee upon separation from employment if its policy or contract requires it. See Fridrich v. Seuffert Construction Co., 2006 Ohio 1076 (OH App. 2006).

An employer is required to pay accrued vacation leave upon separation from employment if the employer’s established policy or employment contract is silent on the matter. See Fridrich v. Seuffert Construction Co., 2006 Ohio 1076 (OH App. 2006).

An employer may lawfully cap the vacation leave an employee can accrued over time, so long as the employer has properly notified its employees of the vacation policy. See Ervin v. Oak Ridge Treatment Center Acquisition Corp., 2006 Ohio 3851 (OH App. 2006).

An employer may lawfully implement a “use-it-or-lose-it” policy requiring employees to use their leave by a set date or lose it, so long as the employer has properly notified its employees of the vacation policy. See Van Barg v. Dixon Ticonderoga Co., 2003 Ohio 2531 (OH App. 2003).

Sick Leave

Ohio law does not require employers to provide employees with sick leave benefits, either paid or unpaid. If an employer chooses to provide sick leave benefits, it must comply with the terms of its established policy or employment contract. An employer is not required to pay an employee for accrued sick leave upon separation from employment.

An employer in Ohio may be required to provide an employee unpaid sick leave in accordance with the Family and Medical Leave Act or other federal laws.

Holiday Leave

Ohio law does not require employers to provide employees with either paid or unpaid holiday leave. In Ohio, an employer can require an employee to work holidays. An employer does not have to pay an employee premium pay, such as 1½ times the regular rate, for working on holidays, unless such time worked qualifies the employee for overtime under standard overtime laws. If an employer chooses to provide either paid or unpaid holiday leave, it must comply with the terms of its established policy or employment contract.

Jury Duty Leave

An employer is not required to pay an employee for time spent responding to a jury summons or serving on a jury.

An employer may not discharge, threaten to discharge, or take any disciplinary action that could lead to the discharge of any permanent employee who is summoned to serve as a juror if the employee gives reasonable notice to the employer of the summons prior to the commencement of the employee’s service as a juror and if the employee is absent from employment because of the actual jury service.

An employer may not require or request an employee to use annual, vacation, or sick leave for time spent responding to a summons for jury duty, time spent participating in the jury selection process, or for time spent actually serving on a jury.
Ohio Rev. Code 2313.18

Voting Leave

Ohio law prohibits employers from terminating or threatening to terminate an employee for taking a reasonable amount of time off to vote. Employers are only required to pay salaried employees for voting leave.

An employer who violates this law may be required to pay a fine not less than $50 nor more than $500.
Ohio Stat. 3599.06

Severance Pay

Ohio law does not require employers to provide employees with severance pay. If an employer chooses to provide severance benefits, it must comply with the terms of its established policy or employment contract.