Under Ohio law, overtime shall be paid at one and one-half the employee’s wage rate for hours worked over 40 in a pre-established work week, consisting of not more than seven consecutive days. This overtime requirement does not apply to employers who gross less than $150,000 per year.

The current minimum wage in Ohio is $8.55 per hour for employers who have gross annual receipts of more than $314,000, and $7.25 per hour for employers who make less than $314,000 annually. Employers, however, can use tips and gratuities to reduce the minimum wage required to $4.30.

Some employees are exempt from Ohio’s minimum wage. The following is a partial list:

• Babysitters and live-in caretakers
• Federal employees
• volunteers of nonprofit organizations
• Newspaper delivery persons
• Outside salespersons paid by commissions
• Bona fide executives, administrative employees, professionals, and computer professionals
• Employees of police and fire agencies
• Students employed by a state or local agency
• Employees for a non-profit camp or recreational facility for children

No. In 2016, Ohio passed a law that stops any cities or counties in the state from passing their own minimum wage laws. Therefore, the state minimum applies to every municipality.

Under Ohio law, the employer is not required to give lunch or restroom breaks. However, if the employee is under 18 years of age, an employer is required to give the employee a half hour break for every five hours worked.

The Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Labor and Worker Safety, Wage and Hour Bureau handles wage and hour complaints. There are separate forms for filing a minimum wage complaint and for filing a prevailing wages complaint.

If you have a wage/hour complaint, do not delay in contacting Labor Standards or an attorney. There are strict time limits in which wage claims must be filed.

Employees can bring an action in court to recover unpaid wages, and attorneys’ fees and costs are recoverable. The latest an employee can file a suit is three years from the last violation, or one year after the state has come to a final decision on the case – whichever is later.

Ohio Department of Commerce
Division of Industrial Compliance
Wage and Hour Bureau
6606 Tussing Road
Reynoldsburg, Ohio 43068
Phone: (614) 644-2239
Fax: (614) 728-8639
TTY/TDD: 1-800-750-0750
Email: webmaster@wagehour.com.state.oh.us