If employee onboarding or orientation is required and it benefits the employer, it is a paid activity for non-exempt employees under Ohio law. Employers are legally required to pay workers for the time they spend on these activities, unless onboarding is optional and purely for the employee’s benefit.
Onboarding and orientation for new employees may involve initial workplace introductions, filling out paperwork, reviewing company policies, learning safety protocols and attending training workshops.
In Ohio, under both the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the state’s minimum wage law, these are paid activities if they are required and for the company’s benefit. Mandatory onboarding activities are classified as “on-duty” time for workers.
Therefore, it is time that must be fairly and appropriately classified – even if these meetings or activities take place before the new worker actually begins primary job duties. If onboarding or orientation time pushes the employee over 40 hours in a single workweek, he or she must also get paid proper overtime (time-and-a-half).
It may be legal for an employer not to pay workers for time spent during onboarding or orientation in Ohio if these activities are optional and voluntary (not mandatory).
However, all of the following must be true:
In addition, employees who are classified as “exempt” under the rules of the FLSA may not be entitled to pay for onboarding or orientation time.
While it’s natural not to want to cause “problems” as a new hire within a company, you should never accept violations of your legal rights. If you are owed wages for time spent on any type of onboarding, orientation or training activities in the workplace – which can span weeks or months, depending on the job – you may be entitled to financial compensation.
An employer that is guilty of unpaid wages or wage theft may be held liable for all back pay owed to you, plus interest. You may also be eligible for unpaid overtime and possible additional damages, such as liquidated damages and attorney’s fees.
If the law states that you should have been properly compensated for onboarding or orientation as on-duty hours worked, but your employer insists on withholding pay, document the issue in detail.
Keep copies of relevant wage and hour records, including your timesheets and pay stubs. Keep all emails or correspondence between you and your employer about the issue, as well. Then, bring this evidence to a free initial meeting with a wage violation attorney at Scott & Winters Law Firm, LLC to learn your legal rights.
Our lawyers can help you determine if your orientation or training time was compensable based on the circumstances. If we believe you have grounds for a wage and hour case, we can help you take the next steps toward obtaining justice. We are proud to stand with wronged workers in Ohio.
