State file — Ohio
Severance itself is almost never required by law — but the paper around your exit is. In Ohio, three state rules shape your negotiation: when your last paycheck must arrive, whether a non-compete can follow you to your next job, and what notice a layoff required. If you are 40 or older, the federal clocks (21 or 45 days, plus 7 days to change your mind after signing) apply on top of everything here.
Federal rule only — no Ohio consideration or revocation period for severance/settlement agreements beyond the federal OWBPA.
Run the deadline checker — it counts the federal clock and Ohio's clock together and gives you the dates.
No statutory ban (SB 11 proposing a ban has not been enacted). Enforceable to the extent reasonable under Raimonde v. Van Vlerah: the restraint must be no greater than required to protect the employer's legitimate interest, impose no undue hardship on the employee, and not be injurious to the public, weighing time/space limits, sole customer contact, access to confidential information/trade secrets, unfair vs. ordinary competition, and livelihood impact. Uniquely, Ohio courts may MODIFY an unreasonable covenant to a reasonable scope and enforce it as reformed rather than voiding it.
Why it matters at the exit table: a non-compete you sign on the way out can matter more than the severance check. If the clause would block your next job, narrowing it is one of the most common — and most granted — negotiation asks.
Ohio has no separate final-paycheck deadline: the semi-monthly statute requires wages for the first half of a month to be paid on or before the 1st of the next month and wages for the second half on or before the 15th, so a departing employee is paid on the employer's regular schedule — in practice the next regular payday (some secondary guidance phrases the outside limit as the next payday or within 15 days, whichever is earlier; the statute itself does not set a termination-specific deadline — see notes). If wages remain unpaid 30+ days past the due payday (absent a legitimate dispute), the employer owes liquidated damages of the greater of 6% of the unpaid amount or $200.
Unused vacation: No statute requires vacation payout; accrued vacation is paid at separation only as provided by the employer's policy or agreement — Ohio courts have treated promised (or policy-silent) accrued vacation as earned wages that must be paid, so the written policy controls in practice.
Final pay is owed whether or not you sign anything. If the date passes without your money, your state labor agency takes these complaints — and many states add penalties for every day of delay.
Ohio has its own layoff-notice law (a mini-WARN law): NEW — Ohio mini-WARN (ORC § 4113.31, enacted in HB 96 signed July 1, 2025; effective Sept.
Notice failures have their own remedies (back pay for each day of missed notice, in the federal law's case) — separate from the severance agreement, and worth a question if your layoff was large and sudden.
Included in the $49 SeveranceDecoded Kit
One payment. Yours to keep. Works for any severance agreement, any state.
Back to severance laws by state · the deadline checker