Employers should follow their policies and practices regarding paying unused, earned vacation time upon separation from employment.
Kentucky Labor Laws
Kentucky Minimum Wage
The minimum wage in Kentucky has remained at $7.25 per hour since July 1, 2009.
Kentucky Labor Law Posters
Simplify labor law compliance and make workplace policies visible with J. J. Keller state and federal labor law posters.
History of Kentucky Labor Laws
In 1789, the Kentucky Manufacturing Society was established, and other labor groups quickly followed suit. Labor Day was officially recognized as a state holiday in Kentucky in 1902.
Municipality Minimum Wage Laws
Local governments in Kentucky are prohibited from setting their own minimum wage rates for employers. This was first established in 2016 when the state Supreme Court struck down a minimum wage law in Louisville, which also invalidated a similar law in Lexington. Subsequently, in 2017, the state legislature passed HB3, a minimum wage preemption law, reinforcing this prohibition.
Kentucky Minimum Wage Exemptions
The following individuals are not considered employees and are therefore exempt from state minimum wage provisions:
- Individuals employed in agriculture
- Individuals in bona fide executive, administrative, supervisory, or professional roles, or as outside salespersons or collectors
- Individuals employed by the United States
- Individuals in domestic service in or around a private home
- Individuals classified by the commissioner as learners, apprentices, workers with disabilities, sheltered workshop employees, or students under specific administrative procedures and regulations
- Employees of retail stores, service industries, hotels, motels, and restaurants with an average annual gross volume of sales under $95,000 for the past five years, excluding excise taxes, or if the employee is a family member of the employer
- Babysitters in the employer’s home, or companions for sick, convalescing, or elderly individuals, whose main duties do not include housekeeping
- Individuals delivering newspapers to consumers
- Individuals covered by KRS Chapters 7, 16, 27A, 30A, and 18A, with specific emergency employees or others receiving overtime pay rates as prescribed by the Personnel Cabinet
- Employees of organized nonprofit camps, religious or educational conference centers operating less than 210 days a year
- Employees providing 24-hour residential care in a parental role to dependent, neglected, or abused children in private, nonprofit childcaring facilities licensed by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services
- Family caregivers providing 24-hour residential care in their own homes to adults with disabilities, approved through a contractual relationship with a community board for mental health or individuals with intellectual disabilities, or certified/licensed by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services
- Direct sellers as defined in Section 3508(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986
Kentucky Posting Requirements
Required posters:
- Minimum Wage
- Child Labor
- Wage Discrimination
- Fair Employment
- Safety and Health on the Job
- Unemployment Insurance
- Workers' Compensation (Must obtain from the Kentucky Department of Workers' Claims)
Tipped Wage in Kentucky
The tipped minimum wage in Kentucky is $2.13 per hour. If an employee’s tips combined with this wage do not reach at least $7.25 per hour, the employer is required to make up the difference. This tipped minimum wage applies to employees who customarily and regularly receive more than $30 per month in tips.
Overtime Wage in Kentucky
An employee who works seven days in a workweek must be paid time-and-a-half their hourly rate on the seventh day of work.
Additionally, overtime must be paid after 40 hours of work in a workweek. However, the overtime provision does not apply to:
- Employees of retail stores engaged in selling, purchasing, and distributing merchandise, wares, goods, articles, or commodities
- Employees of restaurant, hotel, and motel operations
- Employees defined and exempted from the overtime provision of the Fair Labor Standards Act in Sections 213(b)(1), 213(b)(6), 213(b)(10), and 213(b)(17) of Title 29, U.S.C.
- Employees providing 24-hour residential care on the employer’s premises in a parental role to children who are primarily dependent, neglected, and abused, and who are in the care of private nonprofit childcare facilities licensed by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services under KRS 199.640 to 199.670
- Individuals employed by a third-party employer or agency, other than the family or household using their services, to provide in-home companionship services for a sick, convalescing, or elderly person
Child Labor Laws in Kentucky
Minors who are 14 and 15 years old may work:
- Up to 3 hours per day on a school day, 8 hours per day on a non-school day, and a maximum of 18 hours per week when school is in session.
- Up to 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week when school is not in session for the entire week.
- Between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., extended to 9 p.m. from June 1 to Labor Day. They are not allowed to work during regular school hours.
Minors who are 16 and 17 years old may work:
- Up to 3 hours per day on a school day, 8 hours per day on a non-school day, and a maximum of 18 hours per week when school is in session.
- Up to 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week when school is not in session for the entire week.
- Between 6 a.m. and 10:30 p.m. on nights preceding a school day, and between 6 a.m. and 1 a.m. on nights preceding a non-school day during a school week.
Employer Recordkeeping Requirements in Kentucky
Employers subject to the Kentucky Minimum Wage Law are required to maintain the following records for one year:
- Name, address, and Social Security number of each employee
- Hours worked each day and each week by each employee
- Regular hourly rate of pay
- Overtime hourly rate of pay for hours worked beyond 40 hours in a workweek
- Additions to cash wages or deductions (such as meals, board, lodging) from stipulated wages, including the amount deducted or the cost of the item for which deductions are made
- Total wages paid for each workweek and the date of payment
Kentucky Labor Law Questions & Answers
Yes, small businesses in Kentucky must pay the minimum wage.
- Minors aged 14 and 15:
- Up to 3 hours per day on a school day, 8 hours per day on a non-school day, and a maximum of 18 hours per week when school is in session.
- Up to 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week when school is not in session for the entire week.
- Minors aged 16 and 17:
- Up to 3 hours per day on a school day, 8 hours per day on a non-school day, and a maximum of 18 hours per week when school is in session.
- Up to 8 hours per day and 40 hours per week when school is not in session for the entire week.
Yes, employers can require employees to work overtime. Any hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek must be paid at a rate of time-and-a-half the employee’s hourly rate of pay.
- Employees must be given a 10-minute paid rest break for every four-hour period of work.
- Employees must also be given a meal break three to five hours after their shift starts. Employers and employees can mutually agree to a different meal break schedule. A meal break that lasts for a reasonable period and is work-free does not need to be paid.
- Minors under the age of 18 must be given meal breaks that last at least 30 minutes.
Kentucky Labor Law Posters
Simplify labor law compliance and make workplace policies visible with J. J. Keller state and federal labor law posters.