The number of hours an employee must work to be considered full-time and eligible for employee benefits such as health insurance, paid time off (including vacation leave and sick leave), and retirement accounts (401k and related employer-contributions) is generally in the sole discretion of the employer. This is because an employer is not obligated to provide these employee benefits or fringe benefits to any employee, whether full-time or part-time.

For example, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not define full-time employment or part-time employment. And whether an employee is considered full-time or part-time does not change the application of the FLSA—or the application of the Service Contract Act (41 US.C. §351) or the Davis-Bacon Act wage and fringe benefit requirements (40 U.S.C. §3141).

In Ohio, as in other states, the definition of full-time employment and the eligibility for employee benefits such as health insurance, paid time off, and retirement accounts are typically determined by the employer. There is no specific number of hours that universally qualifies an employee as full-time across all employers. Federal laws like the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) do not define full-time or part-time employment, which means that the distinction does not affect the application of the FLSA's wage and hour rules. Similarly, the Service Contract Act and the Davis-Bacon Act focus on wage and fringe benefit requirements for certain types of contracts and do not mandate specific full-time or part-time designations. Therefore, in Ohio, it is the employer's policy that will dictate the threshold for full-time status and the corresponding benefits eligibility.