Involuntary and Voluntary Pay Deductions: Ohio

Federal law and guidance on this subject should be reviewed together with this section.

Author: Vicki M. Lambert, The Payroll Advisor

Summary

• An employer must begin withholding to satisfy a child support order no later than in the first pay period that occurs after 14 business days following the date the order was mailed or transmitted to the employer. An employer must remit the amount withheld within seven business days after the employee is paid. If an employee is terminated, the employer must file a Termination Notice within 10 business days of the termination. Employers are permitted to withhold an administrative fee. The limits of the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act apply to child support withholding in Ohio. Employers that have 50 or more employees and remit child support payments for at least one employee must remit the payments by electronic funds transfer. See Child Support Withholding.
• The maximum amount that can be deducted from an employee's wages to satisfy a creditor garnishment is 25% of disposable earnings, or the amount that exceeds 30 times the current federal minimum wage. Employers also may deduct a small processing fee from the amount withheld for each pay period in which withholding occurred. See Creditor Garnishment Withholding.
• Wage assignments must be made in writing. Certain conditions determine whether a wage assignment is valid, and priority rules apply when there are multiple wage assignments. There are limits on the amount of wages that an employee may assign and on how many assignments the employee may enter into. See Voluntary Wage Assignments.
• An employer may be required to withhold from an employee's wages to satisfy a tax levy for unpaid state income tax. State tax levies generally must be paid in full within 60 days of the date they are issued. No amount is exempt from levy. See Tax Levies.