Final Paychecks in Ohio

When are employers in Ohio required to pay final paychecks to their terminated employees? Answering this question requires an understanding of the Ohio final pay laws and state laws governing payment of wages. As you will see while reading this guide, applying the Ohio state law on the issue of disbursing final paychecks to terminated employees is not as straightforward as it sounds. This guide seeks to lead employers and employees within Ohio final paycheck laws on the issue of last wages to terminated employees.

There is no federal law which requires an employer to immediately pay terminated employees. The timing of providing paychecks is a matter of state law, and in some states, immediate payment of paychecks to terminated employees is a statutory requirement. However, this is not the case of Ohio final pay laws. In fact, there is no explicit provision under Ohio state law that governs the payment of an employee’s final paycheck. Therefore, we must examine the existing rules on disbursing payments and interpret it accordingly.

Ohio Rev. Code Ann 4113.15 is the all-encompassing state law that governs final payments for terminated employees in Ohio. This law lays out a two-pronged rule: the first prong provides general rules on when paychecks are required to be given to employees, and the second prong imposes a penalty on employers who do not comply with the rules.

Subsection A of Ohio Rev. Code §4113.15 provides that:

The foregoing rule on Ohio termination pay laws provides two pay periods as to when paychecks are required to be paid, broken down in the following manner:

The Ohio last paycheck laws, specifically Subsection B of Ohio Rev. Code §4113.15, provide that an employer shall also be required to pay employees liquidated damages on top of the employee’s regular pay for unlawful withholding of an employee’s paycheck after they are terminated or when an employer failed to pay wages.

Considering all these rules, how do we apply Ohio Rev. Code §4113.15 in cases of final payment to terminated employees?

The best interpretation is to apply Subsection A of Ohio Rev. Code §4113.15 by analogy and to use the terminated employee’s last official day of work as a reckoning point. Under this view, an employee must file a two weeks notice letter to inform the employer of their resignation and make their final paycheck due on the first regularly scheduled payday following the last day of employment. However, if there is no regularly scheduled payday, the terminated employee’s final paycheck will need to be paid depending on the specific wages the final paycheck pertains to.

Moreover, applying Subsection B of Ohio Rev. Code §4113.15 by analogy, but still using the terminated employee’s last official day of work as reckoning point, the terminated employee shall be entitled to liquidated damages if his or her final paycheck is not paid within the prescribed periods discussed above.

While there is no true Ohio last paycheck law, and no explicit rules under Ohio employment law governing final paychecks, what is clear is that employers are obligated to immediately pay a terminated employee within the prescribed period of time. The only question that the Ohio last paycheck law leaves unanswered is the timing of the payment of final paychecks. Notwithstanding the law’s silence on the matter, it is reasonable to presume that the Ohio wage payment law did not intend to leave terminated employees in limbo while freeing employers from liability for failing to pay terminated employees within a reasonable amount of time. Otherwise, an injustice will be committed against terminated employees who deserve to be paid for their honest work. If you find yourself in the unfortunate situation where an employer is withholding your wages, it’s a good idea to contact a lawyer to ensure you get the compensation you deserve.