Ohio Employment Laws for Employers

• Large employer: Ohio employers with annual gross receipts of $405,000 or more must pay at least $11.00 per hour. (U.S. DOL WHD, State Minimum Wage Laws (Ohio))

  “Employers with annual gross receipts of $405,000 or more Basic Minimum Rate (per hour): $11.00”

  dol.gov · dam.assets.ohio.gov · verified Sep 27, 2026 · 2 official sources

• Small employer: Ohio employers with annual gross receipts under $405,000 must pay at least $7.25 per hour. (U.S. DOL WHD, State Minimum Wage Laws (Ohio))

  dol.gov · dam.assets.ohio.gov · verified Sep 27, 2026 · 2 official sources

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Ohio employers must pay wages at least semi-monthly: wages for the first half of a month by the first day of the next month, and wages for the second half by the fifteenth day of the next month. (U.S. DOL WHD, State Payday Requirements)

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“Every individual, firm, partnership, association, or corporation doing business in this state shall, on or before the first day of each month, pay all its employees the wages earned by them during the first half of the preceding month ending with the fifteenth day thereof, and shall, on or before the fifteenth day of each month, pay such employees the wages earned by them during the last half of the preceding calendar month.”

dol.gov · govinfo.gov

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Ohio recognizes a claim for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy (Greeley v. Miami Valley Maintenance; Painter v. Graley) when an at-will employee is fired in contravention of a clear public policy found in the Ohio or U.S. Constitution, statutes, administrative rules or the common law. (U.S. District Court, S.D. Ohio, No. 1:20-cv-00813 (Apr. 26, 2021), quoting Dohme v. Eurand Am., Inc., 956 N.E.2d 825, 829 (Ohio 2011); U.S. District Court, N.D. Ohio, No. 3:18-cv-00538, citing Greeley v. Miami Valley Maintenance Contrs., Inc., 49 Ohio St. 3d 228 (1990) and Painter v. Graley, 70 Ohio St. 3d 377 (1994))

“if an at-will employee “is discharged or disciplined in contravention of a clear public policy articulated in the Ohio or United States Constitution, federal or state statutes, administrative rules and regulations, or common law, a cause of action for wrongful discharge in violation of public policy may exist as an exception to the general rule.””

“The Ohio Supreme Court recognized an exception to the employment-at-will doctrine that applies when an at-will employee is discharged for reasons that contravene clear public policy expressed by the legislature.”

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Ohio recognizes two contract-based exceptions to at-will employment (Mers v. Dispatch Printing): an implied contract arising from a handbook, company policy or oral representations, and promissory estoppel based on the employer's promises. (U.S. District Court, N.D. Ohio, No. 3:11-cv-00236, citing Tersigni v. Gen. Tire, Inc., 633 N.E.2d 1140, 1141 (Ohio Ct. App. 1993) and Mers v. Dispatch Printing Co., 483 N.E.2d 150 (Ohio 1985); U.S. District Court, N.D. Ohio, No. 3:07-cv-01084, citing McIntosh v. Roadway Express, Inc., 94 Ohio App. 3d 195, 200 (1994) and Mers v. Dispatch Printing Co., 19 Ohio St. 3d 100, 104 (1985))

“There are, however, two exceptions to at-will employment: implied contract and promissory estoppel.”

“2) an employee handbook, company policy, or oral representation gives rise to an implied contract that alters the at-will relationship.”

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Although every Ohio contract carries a covenant of good faith and fair dealing, there is no separate cause of action for breach of a duty of good faith in the at-will employment context. (U.S. District Court, S.D. Ohio, No. 2:15-cv-02223, quoting Padula v. Wagner, 2015-Ohio-2374 (9th Dist.), and Roberts v. Hagen (9th Dist. 2000); Schoenberg v. Fifth Third Bank, No. 1:07-cv-00276 (S.D. Ohio), quoting Borowski v. State Chem. Mfg. Co., 97 Ohio App. 3d 635, 645 (8th Dist. 1994), citing Mers v. Dispatch Printing, 19 Ohio St.3d 100, 105 (1985))

““there is no separate cause of action for violating a duty to act in good faith in the employment-at-will context””

““Ohio does not recognize a cause of action for breach of an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing in the case of a wrongful discharge of an at-will employee[,]””

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