Kentucky Wage and Hour Laws
By FindLaw Staff | Legally reviewed by Chris Meyers, Esq. | Last reviewed December 12, 2022
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The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) provides the United States with minimum wage and hour laws that all employers must abide by. These laws regulate many aspects of the employer – employee relationship such as child labor law, time off, how much per hour an employee must make, including minors, and the number of hours of work per week an employee can be required to work. It is important to note that the FLSA establishes minimum standards. This means that states can't fall below these minimum standard, but they can pass their own state wage and hour laws as long as the state law doesn't violate the federal law.
The following tables highlight Kentucky labor laws, hourly rate and overtime pay.
Minimum Wage in Kentucky
Code Section |
Kentucky Revised Statutes section 337.275: Minimum Wage |
|---|---|
What's Required? |
Employers in Kentucky must pay their employees at least $7.25 per hour. If the federal minimum wage is increased to more than $7.25 per hour, then Kentucky's minimum wage will also increase to the same amount as the new federal minimum wage. |
Exception- Tipped Employees |
Employees that customarily and regularly receive more than $30 per month in tips (from patrons or others) may be paid a lower minimum hourly wage (see federal law 29 U.S.C sec. 203). |
Penalties |
Violations are punishable by a civil penalty of between $100 and $1,000. |
Overtime Law in Kentucky
Code Section |
Kentucky Revised Statutes section 337.285: Maximum Hours |
|---|---|
What's Required? |
Employees who work more than 40 hours in a workweek must be compensated for each hour of overtime at a rate of at least 1½ times their regular hourly rate. |
Exemptions |
This law doesn't apply to the following employees:
|
Penalties |
Violations are punishable by a civil penalty of between $100 and $1,000. |
Mandatory Lunch Breaks & Rest Periods
All Kentucky employers (except those subject to the Federal Railway Labor Act) must give their employees a reasonable meal break during their shift. Employees must receive their lunch period, or meal period, as close to the middle of their shift as possible. The rest break must not be given sooner than three hours into the shift, and no later than five hours after the shift begins.
In addition to a lunch break, Kentucky employees must also receive a rest period after they've been working for at least four hours. Employees are required to take at least a ten-minute break every four hours (except employees subject to the Federal Railway Labor Act).
Employer Records
Every employer in Kentucky must keep a record of:
- The rate of pay to each employee
- The hours worked each day and each week by each employee, and
- Any other information that the commissioner requires
Employers must keep these records on file for at least one year, and during that one-year period they may be inspected by the commissioner.
Wage and Hour Complaints Filed by Employees
If an employee reports suspected violations of the above wage and hour laws in Kentucky, the responding department won't disclose the identity of the employee, unless revealing their identity is necessary for enforcement and the employee has given written permission.
Additional Resources
State laws change frequently. For case-specific information regarding Kentucky employment laws, contact a local employment attorney for legal advice.
Next Steps: Search for a Local Attorney
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