Ohio: New-Hire Wage Notice Requirements

Requirements one by one

Ohio's hire notice identifies the employer, not the wage

Section 4111.14(E) requires a covered employer, at the time of hire, to provide
its name, address, telephone number, and other contact information. The last
category may include the employer's website, email, fax, or statutory-agent
contact under § 4111.14(E)(1).

Coverage follows the employee definition in § 4111.14(B)(1)-(2), which applies
to individuals employed in Ohio subject to its federal-law and volunteer
exclusions.

The statute draws a boundary around that information. It says “other contact
information” does not mean personal contact information for an employee,
shareholder, officer, director, supervisor, manager, or another associated
individual.

Pay rate is recorded and reported elsewhere

The hire-notice subsection does not require the employee's rate, pay basis,
overtime rate, hours, payday, allowances, or deductions. Section 4111.14(F)
instead requires the employer to maintain specified wage records, including pay
rate, and § 4113.14(B) requires an earnings-and-deductions statement each
regular payday.

For hourly employees, § 4113.14(B)(8) says that payday statement shows the
hourly rate, pay-period hours, and hours over 40 in one workweek. A payday
statement does not erase the separate duty to supply employer contact
information at hire.

Contact changes use a 60-business-day clock

When the employer's name, address, phone, or other contact information changes,
the employer has 60 business days after the change to provide the update. This
is an after-change deadline, not advance notice.

The update may use the employer's usual communication methods. The statute
expressly lists an employer website, internal network, ordinary employee
bulletin board, paycheck, and pay stub as examples. It does not state a
comparable statewide notice period for a change in the employee's pay terms.

Enforcement

A covered employee, authorized representative, or other interested party may
file a complaint with the Commerce Director, and the state must investigate and
resolve it. The civil-action provision (§ 4111.14(K)) also permits equitable
and monetary relief within three years of the violation, subject to the
alternative period after final disposition of a state complaint.

The section does not state a fixed dollar amount for missing employer-contact
information. Its separate back-wage and anti-retaliation calculations should
not be turned into automatic contact-notice damages.

What trips people up

A pay-rate record is not a pay-rate hire notice. Ohio requires employers to
retain pay-rate information and provide employee access to specified wage data,
but § 4111.14(E)'s automatic hire disclosure lists employer contact information,
not the employee's rate.

The 60-business-day rule runs after the change. It applies to employer
contact information. It is not an advance-notice requirement for lowering or
otherwise changing an employee's wage.

The initial notice and the payday statement do different jobs. The hire
notice identifies how to contact the employer; the statement delivered each
payday reports earnings, deductions, and hourly-worker fields.

Common questions

Can an offer letter satisfy the Ohio hire-notice duty?

Yes, if it is provided at the hiring stage and actually states the employer's
name, address, telephone number, and applicable other contact information. A
later contact change still needs a timely update through one of the permitted
communication methods.

Must the employer put the initial notice on a state form?

No individualized agency form is prescribed in § 4111.14(E), and the subsection
does not specify paper or electronic delivery for the initial information.

Does Ohio require a statewide written notice before a pay cut?

The general hire-notice provision does not. It sets a change rule only for the
employer's name, address, telephone number, and other contact information.

Statutes and sources

• Ohio Rev. Code § 4111.14(B)-(E) — coverage and the employer-contact
  notice at hire.

  an employer shall at the time of hire provide an employee with the
  employer's name, address, telephone number, and other contact information
  and update such information when it changes.

Official source: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4111.14 (accessed 2026-07-22)
- Ohio Rev. Code § 4111.14(E)(2) — 60-business-day update and permitted
communication methods.

the employer shall provide its employees with the change in its name,
address, telephone number, or other contact information within sixty
business days after the change occurs.

Official source: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4111.14 (accessed 2026-07-22)
- Ohio Rev. Code §§ 4111.14(F) and 4113.14(B) — separate wage records and
payday statements.

Every employer shall provide each of the employer's employees with a
written or electronic statement or access to a statement of the employee's
earnings and deductions for each pay period on the employer's regular
paydays.

Official sources: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4111.14 and https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4113.14 (accessed 2026-07-22)
- Ohio Rev. Code § 4111.14(H), (K) — complaint, investigation, civil relief,
and limitation periods.

an action for equitable and monetary relief may be brought against an
employer by the attorney general and/or an employee or person acting on
behalf of an employee or all similarly situated employees in any court of
competent jurisdiction

Official source: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-4111.14 (accessed 2026-07-22)
- HB 624 and HB 277 (136th General Assembly) — pending coverage proposals.
Official bill pages: https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/136/hb624 and https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/136/hb277 (checked 2026-07-28).