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Ohio Smoking Breaks

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How many smoking breaks is an employer in Ohio legally required to give an employee, per day?

This is an interesting question, because Ohio employers are not required by law, either federal or state, to provide any breaks at all. Therefore, there is also no law stating companies must allow employees a certain number of smoking breaks.

It’s interesting to understand a business can require an employee to work an entire shift, whether 8, 10, 12 or more hours, without a break.

Even in states that do require one or two work breaks per shift, there are no legal provisions for additional smoking breaks.

Many companies, of course, do provide breaks for their employees. Eight hour shifts usually provide a 30 minute lunch break and 2 fifteen minute breaks. The worker can use these breaks for smoking if they wish. Outside of these “standard” breaks, however, the employer isn’t required to provide any time for smoking.

Employees must be paid for any break that is shorter than 20 minutes, as mandated in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Any break where an employee may be summoned back to work must also be paid. An employee wishing to take a smoke break is actually asking for paid time away from his or her work. Every business has the right to place limits on that time, or even to prohibit these breaks all together.

A company that allows smoke breaks, too, is within their rights to require the worker to clock out and take them as 20 minute unpaid breaks. This policy is rarely put into action, however, because doing so would mean that nonsmokers would be eligible for these breaks, too. Productivity would be negatively affected as a result.

An example of a company smoking policy is that smokers only take 5 or 10 minutes per break and take no more than 5 breaks per shift. Some businesses put these policies in writing, but not all. Union contracts, too sometimes define times and length of breaks, including smoking breaks.

Whether in writing or not, in the absence of a union contract, the company can legally determine whatever limits they wish. A wise employee who smokes would do well to stick to his or her company’s policy. JH