Short Breaks. Ohio complies with the federal break guidelines in the Fair Labor Standards Act. The FLSA considers breaks part of a normal work day. So, if the employer allows short breaks at all, generally between five and 15 minutes, it has to pay the employees during that time.
http://legalbeagle.com/6133687-ohio-labor-laws-breaks-lunches.html
Meals and Breaks. Ohio labor laws require employers to provide employees under the age of eighteen (18) a 30-minute uninterrupted break when working more than five (5) consecutive hours. Ohio Rev. Code 4109.07(C). Ohio does not require employers to provide breaks, including lunch breaks, for workers eighteen (18) years old or older.
http://www.employmentlawhandbook.com/wage-and-hour-laws/state-wage-and-hour-laws/ohio/
Here is a summary of the individual state lunch labor laws. Note that not all industries are required to comply with these regulations in each state. California – 1/2 hour after 5 hours worked, unless shift is only 6 hours. Colorado – 1/2 hour after 5 hours worked, unless shift is only 6 hours.
http://www.legalandrew.com/2008/08/06/lunch-labor-laws-federal-and-state/
In California, Maine, and Colorado, the law mandates that any adult employees working 6 hours or more get a half-hour unpaid meal break. In Delaware and Connecticut, on the other hand, the work period must be 7.5 hours or more. Workers under 18 years old are protected by the various states’ child labor laws. Most states require that employers give workers under 18 a meal break. Almost all states mandate meal breaks for workers under 16.
http://www.humanresourceblog.com/2008/02/07/ohio-break-law/
Connecticut – if shift is 7.5 hours, 1/2 hour lunch after first 2 hours but before last 2 hours. Delaware – if shift is 7.5 hours, 1/2 hour lunch after first 2 hours but before last 2 hours. Illinois – required for hotel room attendants only. Kentucky – reasonable meal period between 3rd and 5th hour of shift. Maine – 1/2 hour after 6 consecutive hours.
http://www.legalandrew.com/2008/08/06/lunch-labor-laws-federal-and-state/
Oregon law, in contrast, requires a half-hour break for each work period of 6 to 8 hours, and specifies that the break must come between the second and fifth hour for work period of seven hours or less and between third and sixth hour for work periods longer than seven hours.
http://legalbeagle.com/7195856-many-can-work-before-break.html
Breaks of 30 minutes or more are regarded as meal breaks by the FLSA. Those are typically worked into a employee's schedule as unpaid time. The guidelines also say the employer has to honor that break by not asking the employer to work during that time.
http://legalbeagle.com/6133687-ohio-labor-laws-breaks-lunches.html
Employers do not have to pay employees for breaks of 30 minutes or more. Many states have laws that mandate employees be given breaks after a certain number of hours of work. Twenty states, plus Guam and Puerto Rico, have laws requiring lunch breaks for employees. However, these laws vary from state to state. For instance, Illinois requires a break of at least 20 minutes, no later than five hours after the start of the work period, for all employees who work 7 1/2 hours or more in a shift.
http://legalbeagle.com/7195856-many-can-work-before-break.html
In these states, employers can make employees work a full day without any kind of break at all, even on shifts of 16 hours or longer. It applies to meals, short rest breaks, or smoking breaks. Still, many employers — and that includes fast food chains — do offer breaks.
http://www.humanresourceblog.com/2008/02/07/ohio-break-law/
Recently, I’ve been researching state lunch and break laws, as well as other work-hour related issues. In Ohio, the state law only regulates the meal breaks for employees under the age of 18. State law mandates that minors under age 18 be given a 30 minute meal break if they have worked five hours or more. This may be an unpaid break.
https://www.laborlawcenter.com/education-center/ohio-lunch-and-break-law/
how many hours in ohio before lunch break?
There are five hours or more in Ohio before lunch break.  