This blog post is a supplement to our free webinar tomorrow on employer compliance.  You can register by clicking here.
Federal laws, such as the Federal Insurance Contribution Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Equal Pay Act and the Civil Rights Act, impose recordkeeping duties on employers. Recordkeeping duties include creating, updating and preserving information.
Ohio law also imposes several recordkeeping requirements on employers that operate, in addition to or in conjunction with, federal requirements. The summary below provides an overview of state recordkeeping requirements for employers in general.
Additional state and federal recordkeeping requirements may exist for your specific industry. Consult with local state agencies for more information about recordkeeping requirements that may affect your business.
General employment records
Ohio law requires employers to keep for at least three years a record of each employee’s:

  • Name;
  • Address;
  • Occupation;
  • Rate of pay;
  • Wages received (per pay period);
  • Overtime wages earned and paid; and
  • Hours worked (per pay period).

Child Labor
Every employer is required to keep a time book or other written records stating the:

  • Name, address, and occupation of each minor employed;
  • The number of hours worked by each minor on each day of the week, the hours of beginning and ending work, the hours of beginning and ending meal periods; and
  • The amount of wages paid each pay period to each minor.

These records must be kept for at least two years. The employer must make the records available to state officials upon request. No employer may fail to keep the time book or records or make false statements in recordkeeping.
Unemployment Compensation
Every employer shall keep a true and accurate employment record of all the employer’s employees, whether qualified and eligible to receive unemployment benefits or not, and of the hours worked by each employee and of the wages paid to the employee.
These records must be open to inspection by state officials at any reasonable time.
Injury and Illness Records
Employers are required to keep a record of all work-related injuries and occupational diseases that result in at least seven days of employee disability. Employers are required to report these injuries or diseases within a week of learning about them to the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. For each injury, the report must indicate:

  • The name and nature of the employer’s business;
  • The location of the employer’s establishment or place of work;
  • The name and address of the injured employee;
  • A description of the injured employee’s occupation;
  • The time, nature and cause of injury, occupational disease or death; and
  • Any other information required by the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation.

Workers’ Compensation
Every employer subject to workers’ compensation law is required to keep complete records showing in detail all expenditures for payroll reportable to Ohio and the division of such expenditures in the classifications of the employer’s business.
If an employer elects to obtain other-states’ coverage, the employer is also required to keep records of all payroll reported to the other-states’ insurer for work performed outside of Ohio.
AUI has many resources to help employers.  If you would like to learn more about the services we provide please contact us!