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Ohio Employee Handbook Requirements: The Gross Receipts Wage Tier
Ohio names no written anti-harassment policy requirement and no state paid sick leave or family leave program on the postings its Department of Commerce actually documents. The one policy every Ohio handbook needs is a wage section built around the gross receipts tier, since the applicable minimum wage depends on what the employer earns, not just where it operates.
Ask an Ohio employer what minimum wage they owe, and the honest first question back is what the business grossed last year. Ohio is one of the few states here where pay depends on a revenue threshold rather than headcount or location, and that single fact drives more of the handbook's wage language than anything else on the page.
The wage tier is set by gross receipts, not by employee count
Employers grossing 405,000 dollars or more pay 11.00 dollars an hour; employers below that revenue figure pay the federal 7.25 dollar rate instead. The current Ohio minimum wage poster must be the most recent version on display each year, with earlier editions kept only for reference, not posted alongside it. A handbook should describe the gross receipts rule in words and point staff to the current poster rather than print a number that changes with both the calendar and the company's own revenue.
Overtime does not change with the wage tier
Whichever wage tier ends up applying, the overtime math does not move with it. Ohio counts overtime the same way the FLSA does, time and a half past 40 hours in a week, and has not added a second, state-specific trigger on top. Only the base rate changes with the gross receipts figure; the calculation method itself stays fixed.
What Ohio specifically adds, with sources
Nothing here is legal advice. Handbook obligations change, so confirm before publishing a revision.
| Minimum wage | $11.00 (employers grossing $405,000+; $7.25 below that) |
|---|---|
| Overtime | Weekly over 40 |
| Paid sick leave policy | Ohio mandates none, so whatever the handbook promises becomes the enforceable rule. Silence is safer than a generous sentence nobody intended to honour. |
| Family and medical leave | No state programme. Federal FMLA applies at 50 or more employees, unpaid, and the handbook should not imply a paid state entitlement exists. |
| Harassment training | No statewide sexual-harassment-training mandate for private employers today; federal EEOC guidance still applies. [source] |
| Continuation coverage | Below the federal 20-employee COBRA threshold, Ohio has its own continuation law, Ohio State Continuation of Health Insurance, running up to 12 months. The handbook should name it, because employees below that threshold often assume they have no coverage rights at all. [Ohio Rev. Code section 3923.38] |
Some Ohio postings are not documented where this guide looked
The Ohio Department of Commerce page this guide relies on documents the minimum wage poster in detail but does not document workers compensation, unemployment insurance or civil rights postings on that same page. Rather than guess at requirements that live with other agencies, confirm those directly with the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, and the Ohio Civil Rights Commission before finalizing a posting set.
Continuation coverage fills the gap below the federal COBRA line
Ohio State Continuation of Health Insurance primarily serves employees of employers not subject to federal COBRA, running up to 12 months for an employee who was continuously insured for the three months before an involuntary termination other than gross misconduct, and who is not otherwise eligible for continuation elsewhere.
Where Ohio employers get the handbook wrong
The most common mistake is printing a specific wage figure that goes stale the moment the company crosses, or falls under, the 405,000 dollar gross receipts line. A second is assuming Ohio requires paid sick leave because a neighboring state does, when no such mandate is documented here. A third is treating the minimum wage poster as the only Ohio-specific posting needed, when workers compensation, unemployment and civil rights notices still need confirming with their own agencies. Handbook decisions on accrual and final pay flow straight into payroll, and BEG's managed payroll keeps the written policy and the paycheck matched as the company's revenue, and its wage tier, change.
Federal FLSA, FMLA and EEOC obligations apply in Ohio the same way they do everywhere else, and are covered once in the handbook fundamentals guide.
An Ohio Handbook That Tracks the Right Wage Tier.
Certified HR professionals write the gross receipts wage rule into an Ohio supplement on the Expert plan, two states included, powered by isolved.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the Ohio minimum wage depend on company revenue?
Employers grossing 405,000 dollars or more pay 11.00 dollars an hour; employers below that gross receipts figure pay the federal 7.25 dollar rate instead. A handbook should describe the tier rule in words, since the dollar threshold itself is what determines the wage, not employee headcount.
How often does the Ohio minimum wage poster change?
Employers must display the most recent Ohio minimum wage poster each year; the 2026 version is current, and earlier years are kept only for reference. A handbook wage reference should point to the current poster rather than a printed figure.
Does Ohio require a written anti-harassment policy?
The Ohio Department of Commerce page this guide draws from does not document a harassment policy mandate, and no separate statute surfaced in this research either. Ohio employers should build that section of the handbook around the federal EEOC enforcement guidance rather than wait for a state requirement that has not materialized.
Does Ohio require paid sick leave or paid family leave?
Neither shows up on the pages this guide relies on. Where an Ohio employer provides paid leave anyway, the handbook language should read as a benefit the company chose to extend, since the state has not required it.
What other Ohio postings does the handbook need to confirm?
Workers compensation, unemployment insurance and civil rights postings for Ohio are not documented on the wage and hour poster page this guide relies on. Confirm current requirements directly with the relevant Ohio agency before finalizing a posting set.
How is overtime calculated in Ohio?
The same way it works under the FLSA generally: weekly hours past 40 draw time and a half. Ohio has not created its own daily trigger, so which wage tier applies to the employer changes the base rate, not the overtime formula.
Does Ohio have its own continuation of coverage law?
Yes. Ohio State Continuation of Health Insurance primarily serves employees of employers not subject to federal COBRA, running up to 12 months for an employee continuously insured for the three months before an involuntary termination other than gross misconduct.
Is BEG a PEO?
No. There is no co-employment and no employer-of-record change. Your company stays the employer; the HR professionals support your team. Powered by isolved.
Anthony leads HR outsourcing strategy at Business Executive Group, a national HR outsourcing firm serving employers across every state. BEG HR outsourcing is powered by isolved, with certified HR professionals tracking Ohio's annual wage poster update.
Sources: Ohio Department of Commerce, minimum wage posters. General information, not legal advice.
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