• The Division of Industrial Compliance and Labor enforces Ohio labor laws.ohio flagge symbol image by Marty Kropp from Fotolia.com
  
  Whether you're a minor or an adult, the State of Ohio has labor laws designed to protect you. It's important to be familiar with labor laws in the state so that you know when to contact the Division of Industrial Compliance and Labor or an attorney. Further, if you are an employer in Ohio, knowing the law will allow you to avoid making costly mistakes that put you on the wrong side of the law.
  
  

Child Labor

• Ohio labor law has a complex system of restrictions on child labor by age. Generally speaking, minors may not hold jobs before their 14th birthday. All minors are prohibited from working in a number of occupations. Occupations barred for all minors include mining, railroads, excavation, slaughtering, roofing, meat packing, demolition and the manufacture of brick, explosives and chemicals. Occupations off limits for minors under the age of 16 include all forms of manufacturing, transportation, warehousing, outside window washing and loading and unloading trucks. In addition to prohibiting minors from working in certain occupations, Ohio state labor law also restricts how many hours per day a minor may work and during what time period. Minors aged 14 or 15 may not work during school hours after 7 p.m. or before 7 a.m., except during the summer when they may work as late as 9 p.m. Further, they may not work more than three hours on a school day, eight hours other days or more than a total of 18 hours in a school week. Minors aged 16 and older may not work later than 11 p.m. on nights before school or before 7 a.m. on days that school is in session. There are no restrictions on when they may work or for how long when school is not in session.
  
  

Minimum Wage

• The minimum wage for the state of Ohio is $7.30 as of 2010. However, there are some exceptions to the minimum wage. Employees who receive tips may be paid as little as $3.65 per hour. Federal labor law does not allow tipped employees to receive less than full minimum wage when tips are factored in. Further, employers may apply for one of five different special licenses from the state to pay mentally and physically disabled employees at a rate lower than the usual minimum wage.
  
  

Overtime

• In most circumstances, Ohio private sector workers are covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. However, Ohio also has its own laws providing guidelines for overtime. Any employer whose company is worth more than $150,000 must pay employees a rate of one-and-a-half times their regular rate of pay for all hours worked over 40 in a week. Employers whose company is worth less than this amount do not have to pay overtime wages for overtime hours.