When The Cheque Does Not Come
ORC 4113.15 — the schedule wages are owed on, and what late costs
Ohio sets a schedule for when earned wages have to be handed over, and it is a calendar rule rather than a matter between the parties. Wages earned in the first half of a month are payable on or before the first day of the month after, and wages earned in the second half are payable on or before the fifteenth of the month after.
Where there is no regularly scheduled payday, the clock is sixty days instead, running from the filing of a claim or from the agreement, award or other act that made the wages payable.
A last pay cheque is not carved out separately. People often expect the final cheque on the last day worked, or handed over at the door. The schedule in this section is the schedule, and the cheque that covers a final half month arrives on the date that half month's wages were payable.
“Which half of which month were these wages earned in, and what date were they payable.”
Minimum wage, overtime and how hours are counted run under separate state and federal law and are not on this page. Employees of some public bodies, and people who are contractors rather than employees, sit outside this section. Whether a deduction was lawful, whether a dispute is genuine, and whether a particular worker is an employee at all are questions for a licensed Ohio attorney, and the Ohio Department of Commerce takes wage complaints. Small claims court handles many unpaid wage cases without a lawyer.
Sources for this section (1)
- ORC 4113.15 — Semimonthly payment of wages, and the liquidated damages when they go unpaid
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Talk to a licensed Ohio attorney about your situation.