Ohio labor laws, including Ohio labor laws 2024, impact the daily lives of employees and employers in Ohio. Residents of Ohio have many questions that affect them every day regarding Ohio labor laws from minimum wage rates, overtime, wage payments, vacation and sick leave, child labor, meal and rest breaks, and more.
In addition to Ohio labor laws, employer must also comply with federal labor laws such as the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), and many other federal laws. And when federal laws are different from state Ohio labor laws, usually companies must comply with the law that provides their workers the best protection.
Below we provide comprehensive information and resources regarding your more pressing Ohio labor law questions to help you answer the question and help you make the right decision about you and your employment.
Minimum Wage
Ohio’s current minimum wage is $9.30 for employers whose gross receipts are greater than $342,000.
For more information on Ohio’s minimum wage laws, visit our Ohio Minimum Wage Laws page, which includes topics such as minimum wage, tip minimum wage, tip sharing and pooling, and subminimum wages. Also, Ohio employer may be required to comply with the federal minimum wage requirements set for in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
Related topics covered on other pages include:
Overtime
Ohio labor laws require 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 Statute 4111.03. See FLSA: Overtime for more information regarding overtime requirements.
Prevailing Wages
Under certain circumstances, employers in Ohio may be required to pay residents wage rates established by the federal or state prevailing wage rates and rules. The prevailing wage rates may be different from the state’s standard minimum wage rates. Employees may be eligible for prevailing wages if they work on federal or state government or government-funded construction projects or perform certain federal or state government services. See the Ohio Prevailing Wages, Davis-Bacon and Related Acts, McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA), and Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act (PCA) for more information about prevailing wages.
Meals and Breaks
Ohio labor laws require employers to provide employees under the age of eighteen (18) a 30-minute uninterrupted break when working more than five (5) consecutive hours. OH Statute 4109.07(C).
Ohio does not require employers to provide break time, 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.
Nursing Mother Breaks
Ohio labor laws do not require employers to provide nursing mothers with breaks to express breast milk. However, the federal Fair Labor Standards Act requires certain employees to provide nonexempt nursing mothers for one (1) year following a child’s birth with reasonable rest breaks to express milk and private spaces, other than a bathroom, to express breast milk.
Vacation Leave
Ohio does not require employers to provide employees with vacation benefits, whether paid or unpaid leave. However, if the employer offers benefits in terms of vacation, it must comply with the established policy or employment contract terms. This includes vacation benefits established under a collective bargaining agreement.
An employer also has the right to establish a policy or create a contract that will deny employees payment for accrued vacation leave upon the end of employment.
The employer must pay all accrued vacation time to employees upon separation from the job if the contract or policy requires it. If an employer’s contract is silent on the issue, the employer must pay accrued vacation time in the final paycheck.
Information about Ohio vacation leave laws may now be found on our Ohio Leave Laws page.
Sick Leave
Ohio does not require employers to provide employees with sick leave benefits, whether unpaid or paid. However, an employer may provide sick leave benefits to employees, and it must comply with the terms of the employment contract or the established policy.
However, according to the Family and Medical Leave Act and other federal laws, Ohio employers might be required to provide employees with unpaid sick leave. If sick leave is a part of the negotiated contract, an employer is not required to provide an employee with payment for accrued sick leave days upon the end of the contract.
Information about Ohio sick leave laws may now be found on our Ohio Leave Laws page.
Holiday Leave
Ohio does not require private employers to provide employees with unpaid or paid holiday leave. Therefore, it is legal for a private employer to require employees to work holidays; however, it is not established that employers must pay premium pay to their employees for working holiday hours.
Unless working on these holiday hours qualifies for overtime pay, this is the case. If an employer provides their employees paid holiday leave, it must adhere to the terms as established in the employment contract or policy. In addition, there are Ohio state holidays that are officially recognized and observed by the state.
Information about Ohio holiday leave laws may now be found on our Ohio Leave Laws page.
Jury Duty Leave
When summoned for jury duty, an employee, or any person, must attend. However, employers in Ohio are not required to pay their employees for jury duty.
An employer may also not threaten to discharge or take any disciplinary action against an employee who takes part in jury duty and provides the employer with reasonable notice before the start of the jury duty. It is also against the law for an employer to require employees to use their annual vacation, sick leave, or other leave for jury duty.
Information about Ohio jury duty leave laws may now be found on our Ohio Leave Laws page.
Voting Leave
Employees in Ohio are provided with a reasonable time off to vote. This generally comprises two consecutive hours allotted for voting time. Ohio law also states that employers are not allowed to threaten to terminate an employee for taking a reasonable amount of time to vote. Under the law, there are fines from $50 to $500, or more, for employers who violate this law.
Information about Ohio voting leave laws may now be found on our Ohio Leave Laws page.
Severance Pay
Ohio labor laws do 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.
Unemployment
Under certain circumstances, Ohio residents may be eligible for unemployment benefits while they search for another job. You are required to certify that you are unemployed on a weekly basis to receive these benefits.
Workers in Ohio are eligible for unemployment benefits if they are working reduced hours or have lost employment due to no fault of their own. This could include wage or hour reductions, being laid off, or being fired due to no fault of your own.
To qualify for unemployment benefits in Ohio, you must have worked at least 20 weeks during the first four of the last five calendar quarters. In addition, you must have also earned an average weekly wage of at least $280 when you were employed.
To continue to qualify for unemployment benefits, you must be able and available to work, and you must actively seek employment for the duration while receiving unemployment benefits.
See Ohio State Unemployment Benefits.
Other Ohio Labor Laws Topics and Resources
There are several other laws governing the employers and their workplaces. Below are those topics and resources:
- Ohio Child Labor Laws including work during school hours and summer hours, school days and summer days, an d hour restrictions. Ohio’s minor labor laws also discusses when need an age certificate and if minors cannot work in hazardous occupations.
- Discrimination which includes protections and violations based on race, color, religion, sex, military status, national origin, disability, age, or ancestry. The Ohio Civil Rights Act is enforced the Ohio Civil Rights Commission. Also, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) applies federal discrimination laws that, in addition to the classes protected by Ohio’s Civil Rights Act, employees are protected based on pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.
- Ohio payday law including covering frequency and manner of wage payments, pay periods, deductions, direct deposit and payroll cards, pay stubs, record keeping, and notice requirements.
- Minimum wage and overtime exemptions covering non-exempt employees and exempt employees related to Ohio’s overtime law.
- Hours worked including rest breaks, meal breaks, on-call, waiting, travel, sleeping, and meeting times relative to Ohio’s minimum wage and overtime laws that are enforced by the Bureau of Wage & Hour Administration.
- Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)
- Workers’ Compensation
- Unemployment
