Employment Law

When you’re hired for a job, it is because your skills align with the company’s needs. All you need to do is show up, perform your duties at the required standard, and be fairly paid.

Unfortunately, your dream job can turn into a nightmare where you’re cheated out of wages, harassed, or subjected to unsafe work conditions.

When those situations arise, it is time to speak with a qualified employment law attorney.

If you think you have a problem with a contract or workplace environment, it is vital that you speak with an attorney to understand all your options for pursuing compensation and reimbursement for your losses. Here’s what you need to know about these types of disputes.

Understanding Your Rights Under Ohio Labor Laws

Your employee contract will dictate the terms of your employment, but those terms can’t be superseded by Ohio Labor Laws. Those laws take precedence. These are the laws that you should be aware of as an employee:

Minimum Wage and Overtime

Ohio’s minimum wage breakdown:

• Non-tipped employees: $11.00 per hour
• Tipped employees: $5.50 per hour

Those rates apply to employers with annual gross sales of $150,000 or more.

Ohio’s overtime laws are as follows:

• Rate: 1.5 times the regular hourly rate for all hours worked over 40 in a 7-day period.

That doesn’t include time for preliminary or post-liminary activities, such as walking from your parking spot to your workstation or changing into work clothes.

There are certain exemptions to the minimum wage and overtime laws.

For instance, executive, administrative, or professional employees could be paid a salary rather than an hourly rate. Sales representatives are also exempt.

Discrimination and Harassment Protections

Along with the federal laws, the Ohio Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), or disability.

Safety and Health

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) provides safety standards for the workplace environment. Every worker is entitled to a safe workplace, and you should always report any safety concerns.

Wage Theft and Pay Stubs

Your employer is obligated to provide you with detailed and accurate pay stubs. They can’t withhold wages illegally.

Final Pay

If you put in notice to quit or are terminated, you must be paid for all hours worked up to the time you leave.

Voting Time

Ohio law does not require paid time off to vote. However, employers cannot terminate or threaten employees for using personal time off to vote on Election Day.

How to Prove Liability in an Employment Lawsuit

If any of your rights as a worker have been violated, you are entitled to file a claim against your employer. Any employment-related violation would be handled as a civil lawsuit. That means you only have to prove liability by a preponderance of the evidence.

That evidence begins with direct evidence, such as admissions from your employer or discriminatory comments from your supervisor or co-workers. There might also be instances where your employer puts terms in a contract that actually violate the law.

You and your employment lawyer can present evidence that demonstrates inconsistent treatment where other employees were treated differently from you. Your positive performance reviews can be used as contradictory evidence if you were fired for poor performance.

Witness testimony from anyone who saw harassment firsthand can also support your claim. The same holds true for reports from your company’s HR representative, to whom you might have reported incidents.

There are other documents, such as emails and texts, which can support your claim. It also helps if you keep a personal log of all incidents, including dates, times, and any witnesses.