Ohio Amends Overtime Law Effective July 6, 2022

Ohio recently amended its overtime law, effective July 6, 2022, to include certain provisions from federal wage and hour law, namely the main aspects of the “Portal to Portal Act” (PPA).

The PPA, as now written into Ohio law, doesn’t require employers to pay overtime for activities that are “preliminary or postliminary” to an employee’s principal activity (for example, laundering their uniform or showering at the end of the workday for their own convenience). However, Ohio adds two exceptions to this rule for its state overtime law.

Ohio’s Exceptions

First, employees must be paid overtime where the employee performs these types of activities during their regular workday or work hours. Second, employees must also be paid overtime for activities that are performed at “the specific direction of the employer.” The statute provides no guidance on what qualifies as “specific direction,” and this will likely be a question in future litigation.

Action Items

If you employ non-exempt employees who undertake “preliminary and postliminary” activities, we recommend contacting an attorney to help you decide if, when, and how those activities should be tracked and paid.

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