Title XXVII, Labor and Human Rights

The secretary may have inspected any place of employment affected by or subject to any law of this state relating to the employment of labor, except places of employment within the jurisdiction of the Department for Natural Resources. In the discharge of his or her duties, the se…

(1) The cabinet shall be furnished with a copy of all the laws and rulings of the secretary for health and family services affecting sanitary conditions in places of employment, not covered by the labor laws of the state, and shall report in writing to the state, county, or city …

Within one (1) month after any employer begins to occupy a factory, workshop, mill, or other place of employment he or she shall notify the cabinet, in writing, of such occupancy. If the employer is a corporation, the notice shall state the legal title of the corporation and name…

No person shall refuse or attempt to prevent the admission of any inspector of the cabinet to any place which he or she is required by law to inspect, at any reasonable hour, or during the working hours of the persons employed there, or interfere with the performance of the offic…

The secretary, with the approval of the Governor, may enter into cooperative agreements with appropriate agencies of the federal government, whereby Acts of Congress and regulations issued in pursuance thereof affecting the employment of labor within this state may be administere…

Protection of employees -- Conduct prohibited -- Effect of violence or injury to person or property. (1) Employees may, free from restraint or coercion by the employers or their agents, associate collectively for self-organization and designate collectively representatives of the…

Exceptions. Any agreement, understanding, or practice, written or oral, implied or expressed, between any labor organization and employer which violates an employee's rights as set forth in KRS 336.130(3) shall be unlawful and void, except that KRS 336.130(3) shall not apply to: …

with collection of dues or charges, political activities, or personal information. A public employer shall not assist, directly or indirectly, any labor organization, person, or other legal entity with the collection of dues, fees, assessments, or other charges, or political acti…

employee for charges to a labor organization or for political activities. A public employer shall not deduct from the wages, earnings, or compensation of any public employee for: (1) Any dues, fees, assessments, or other charges to be held for, transferred to, or paid over to a l…

entered into prior to March 29, 2023. KRS 336.133, 336.134, and 336.180 shall not apply to any deductions from a public employee's wages, compensation, or earnings made by the public employer in accordance with any joint wage agreement or collective bargaining contract entered in…

labor organization and deduction of membership dues -- Recordkeeping -- Report to members -- Exception. (1) As used in this section, "employee" means any person employed by or suffered or permitted to work for a public or private employer, except "employee" shall not mean any per…

Conditions -- Exclusion from application of section. (1) As used in this section: (a) "Marketplace contractor" means a person or entity that enters into an agreement with a marketplace platform to use its digital network or mobile application to receive connections to third-party…

The secretary shall present biennial reports to the General Assembly giving statistical data relating to employment and unemployment in the state such as the hours and wages of employees, cost of living, the amount of labor required, the estimated number and classification of per…

in Kentucky. (1) It shall be unlawful for any national or international labor organization having one hundred (100) or more members in good standing who reside or work in Kentucky not to have at all times one or more duly chartered and established local or subsidiary organization…

As used in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise: (1) "Candidate" means any person who has received contributions or made expenditures, has appointed a campaign treasurer, or has given his or her consent for any other person to receive contributions or make expendit…

It shall be unlawful for any carrier or shipper of property, or any association of such carriers or shippers, to agree to pay or to pay, to or for the benefit of a labor organization, directly or indirectly, any charge by reason of the placing upon, delivery to, or movement by ra…

It shall be unlawful for any labor organization to accept or receive or to agree to accept or receive from any carrier or shipper of property, or any association of such carriers or shippers, any payment described in KRS 336.190.

(1) If a plan or custom exists in any industry under which the employees contribute to the payment of any physician or surgeon for furnishing treatment, by deductions from their wages through the office of the employer, a meeting of such employees may be called by any ten (10) of…

(1) It shall be unlawful for any employer to require any employee or applicant for employment to pay the cost of a medical examination or the cost of furnishing any records required by the employer as a condition of employment. (2) As used in this section: (a) The term "employer"…

The General Assembly finds and declares that: (1) Professional employer organizations provide a valuable service to commerce and the citizens of this Commonwealth by increasing the opportunities of employers to develop cost-effective methods of satisfying their personnel requirem…

As used in KRS 336.230 to 336.250, unless the context requires otherwise: (1) "Client" means any person who enters into a professional employer agreement with a professional employer organization; (2) "Co-employer" means either a professional employer organization or a client; (3…

deemed employees of clients for tax credits or economic incentives -- Use of professional employer organization services not to impact company status in business with state or political subdivisions. (1) Nothing in any professional employer agreement, or in KRS 336.230 to 336.250…

Requirements -- Limited registration -- Electronic filing -- Confidentiality -- Administrative regulations. (1) A person engaged in providing professional employer services pursuant to a co- employment relationship in which all or a majority of the employees of a client are cover…

(1) Upon filing an initial registration statement pursuant to KRS 336.230 to 336.250, a professional employer organization or professional employer organization group shall pay an initial registration fee not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500) to the Department of Workers' Cla…

irrevocable letter of credit, or securities. Except as provided in KRS 336.236, each professional employer organization or collectively each professional employer organization group shall either: (1) Maintain positive working capital as indicated by current assets minus current l…

organization in a co-employment relationship -- Professional employer agreement -- Notice -- Imposition of taxes. (1) Except as specifically provided in KRS 336.230 to 336.250, or in a professional employer agreement, in each co-employment relationship: (a) The client shall be en…

terminated -- Workers' compensation coverage requirement. (1) Any professional employer organization whose workers' compensation insurance has been terminated within the past five (5) years in any jurisdiction due to a determination that a professional employer organization arran…

plans. (1) A client and a registered professional employer organization shall each be deemed an employer under the laws of this Commonwealth for purposes of sponsoring retirement and welfare benefit plans for its covered employees. (2) A fully insured welfare benefit plan offered…

submitting -- Changing choice of contribution method -- Clients contributing under KRS 341.275 -- Client treated as new employer. For the purposes of KRS Chapter 341: (1) The professional employer organization shall submit all required wage reports and pay all required contributi…

(1) A person shall not knowingly: (a) After July 15, 2024, offer or provide professional employer services or use the names professional employer organization, PEO, staff leasing, employee leasing, administrative employer, or other title representing professional employer service…

employment -- Exceptions -- Arbitration agreements. (1) As used in this section, "employer" means any person, either individual, corporation, partnership, agency, or firm, that employs an employee and includes any person, either individual, corporation, partnership, agency, or fi…

(1) The secretary, or any person authorized to act in his or her behalf, shall initiate enforcement of civil penalties imposed in KRS Chapters 336, 337, and 339. (2) Any civil penalty imposed pursuant to KRS Chapter 336, 337, or 339 may be compromised by the secretary or the secr…

(1) Upon proof that any person employed by the Education and Labor Cabinet as a labor inspector has taken any part in any strike, lockout or similar labor dispute, the person shall forfeit his or her office. (2) The following civil penalties shall be imposed, in accordance with t…

(1) As used in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise: (a) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the Department of Workplace Standards under the direction and supervision of the secretary of the Education and Labor Cabinet; (b) "Department" means the Department of…

parents to receive paid leave and other benefits provided to birth parents -- Exemptions.. (1) Upon receiving written request by an employee, every employer shall grant reasonable personal leave not to exceed six (6) weeks, or if the employer has established a policy providing ti…

Every employer doing business in this state shall, as often as semimonthly, pay to each of its employees all wages or salary earned to a day not more than eighteen (18) days prior to the date of that payment. Any employee who is absent at the time fixed for payment, or who, for a…

(1) Any employer who permits any employee to work seven (7) days in any one (1) workweek shall pay him at the rate of time and a half for the time worked on the seventh day. For the purposes of this subsection, the term "workweek" shall mean a calendar week or any other period of…

required. Any employee who leaves or is discharged from his employment shall be paid in full all wages or salary earned by him; not later than the next normal pay period following the date of dismissal or voluntary leaving or fourteen (14) days following such date of dismissal or…

deductions from wages prohibited. (1) No employer shall withhold from any employee any part of the wage agreed upon. This section shall not make it unlawful for an employer to withhold or divert any portion of an employee's wage when the employer is authorized to do so by local, …

(1) No employer shall require an employee to remit to the employer any gratuity, or any portion thereof, except for the purpose of withholding amounts required by federal or state law. The amount withheld from such gratuity shall not exceed the amount required by federal or state…

All employers who employ ten (10) or more and pay their employees by check or otherwise, making deductions from the salaries and wages due said employees, shall state specifically the amount for which the deductions are made, and each such employer at the time of payment of salar…

Recording of lien. (1) A lien may be placed on all property, both real and personal, of an employer who has been assessed civil penalties by the commissioner for violations of the wages and hours provisions of this chapter, but not before all administrative and judicial appeals h…

technician, peace officer, or emergency management agency member absent from employment due to emergency or injury incurred in the line of duty. (1) No employer shall terminate an employee who is a volunteer firefighter, rescue squad member, emergency medical technician, peace of…

work, or the severance, preparation, or transportation of minerals. Except for employers who have been doing business in the state for five (5) consecutive years, every employer engaged in construction work, or the severance, preparation, or transportation of minerals, shall furn…

(1) Except as may otherwise be provided by this chapter, every employer shall pay to each of his employees wages at a rate of not less than five dollars and eighty-five cents ($5.85) an hour beginning on June 26, 2007, not less than six dollars and fifty- five cents ($6.55) an ho…

time -- County or city employee, Trooper R Class, CVE R Class -- Designated work period for professional firefighters. (1) No employer shall employ any of his or her employees for a work week longer than forty (40) hours, unless such employee receives compensation for his or her …