Kentucky follows the federal minimum wage, but it goes further than federal law on breaks and adds a seventh-day overtime rule. Here is a summary for private employers with hourly workers, followed by the details.
EZTime labor rule alerts flag overtime and missed rest periods before payroll.
| Topic | Rule |
|---|---|
| Minimum wage | $7.25 per hour, effective since July 1, 2009 (Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet) |
| Tipped employees | $2.13 per hour cash wage; tips must make up the rest (Kentucky wage and hour poster) |
| Overtime | Time and a half over 40 hours a week, plus a seventh-day overtime rule |
| Meal break | Reasonable lunch period no earlier than the 3rd hour and no later than the 5th hour |
| Rest breaks | Paid rest period of at least 10 minutes for each 4 hours worked |
| Paid sick leave | Not required by Kentucky wage and hour law; holiday pay is not required |
| Payday | At least semimonthly (KRS 337.020) |
| Final pay | Next regular payday or 14 days after separation, whichever is later |
| Minors | Hour limits for ages 14-17 (803 KAR 1:100); 30-minute lunch after 5 hours |
The Kentucky minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, effective since July 1, 2009, according to the Education and Labor Cabinet wages and hours page. That matches the federal minimum. The U.S. DOL state minimum wage table notes that Kentucky adopts the federal rate by reference if the federal rate rises above the state rate. No 2027 change has been announced on official state pages.
Employees who customarily receive more than $30 a month in tips may be paid a cash wage of $2.13 per hour. The tip credit is allowed only when your records show that tips plus wages equal at least the minimum wage for each week you take the credit. Employers cannot require employees to turn over their tips, except for legally required withholding. Employees may agree to share tips among themselves. If the employer requires a tip pool, the pool's account must be kept separate from business records and be open to participants.
The Kentucky poster restricts what you can take out of a paycheck. Deductions are allowed when required by law, when the employee authorizes them in writing for items such as insurance or medical dues, or for union dues under a collective bargaining agreement. Employers may not deduct for fines, shared-till cash shortages, breakage, bounced checks (if the employee could accept or reject checks), defective work, lost or stolen property, property damage, or customer nonpayment, unless the loss came from the employee's willful or intentional disregard of the employer's interests.
Non-exempt employees must be paid at least one and a half times their regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. Kentucky has no daily overtime rule based on hours worked in one day, but it does have a seventh-day rule: if you allow an employee to work all seven days of a workweek, hours worked on the seventh day are paid at time and a half. That rule does not apply if the employee is not permitted to work more than 40 hours in that week.
The Cabinet's page also says that comp time may not be given to an employee who is subject to the overtime law, so private employers should pay overtime in cash. For the federal side, see our FLSA overtime guide, and use the overtime calculator to check pay for long weeks.
Kentucky requires both a meal period and paid rest breaks for adult workers, which makes it stricter than federal law.
The poster notes that the lunch rules do not override collective bargaining agreements or mutual employer-employee agreements on timing. The U.S. DOL rest period table notes that employers subject to the federal Railway Labor Act are excluded. Coffee breaks and snack time do not count toward the meal period.
Minors: Under KRS 339.270, no minor under 18 may work more than five hours in a row without a lunch period of at least 30 minutes. The Cabinet says these breaks must be documented.
Kentucky's wage and hour law, as summarized on the state poster and the Cabinet's website, does not require private employers to provide paid sick leave. The Cabinet's page also states that holiday pay is not required by Kentucky law. Any paid time off you offer is set by your own policy. If you have questions about other leave types, such as jury duty or voting time, check with the Education and Labor Cabinet before writing a policy. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act may also apply to your business. Our PTO accrual calculator can help you set up a voluntary policy.
Under KRS 337.020, employers doing business in Kentucky must pay wages at least semimonthly. Each payment must include all wages earned up to a day not more than 18 days before payday. An employee who is absent on payday, or otherwise not paid on time, must be paid after making a demand, and an employer cannot avoid the requirement by any method.
Final pay. When an employee quits or is fired, all earned wages are due by the next normal payday or within 14 days of separation, whichever is later. The same deadline applies regardless of who ended the job.
Kentucky's child labor statute, KRS 339.230, lets the Commissioner set hour limits that may be stricter, but never weaker, than federal rules. The current limits in 803 KAR 1:100 are:
Keep the permission and certification at the place of business. Employers must keep proof of age (such as a birth certificate, driver's license or school ID) on file for each minor under 18, plus each minor's name, age and address and their shift and meal period times. Hazardous jobs, driving a motor vehicle, coal mining and work in pool or billiard rooms are among the prohibited duties.
The Kentucky wage and hour poster says employers must keep records for one year after each entry, including each employee's name, address and Social Security number, daily and weekly hours, regular and overtime rates, wage additions and deductions, and total weekly wages and payment dates. The required workplace posters page lists the state posters: Safety and Health on the Job, Wage and Hour Laws, Wage Discrimination, Child Labor Law, the Kentucky Equal Employment Opportunity poster and the Unemployment Insurance Benefits poster.
EZTime gives Kentucky teams one place to track hours and stay on top of the rules above. Employees clock in with the GPS mobile time clock and geofencing, NFC tags, a shared tablet kiosk, or biometric clocks. Managers build schedules with shift templates and approve shift swaps in the scheduling software, get overtime and break alerts before a problem shows up on a paycheck, and track PTO and sick-leave balances. At the end of each period, payroll-ready Excel and PDF exports work with any payroll software. Plans start from $2 per employee per month, with a 14-day trial; see pricing.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws change; check the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet or an employment attorney. Last reviewed November 2026.
Kentucky’s minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, effective since July 1, 2009. Tipped employees may be paid $2.13 per hour if tips bring total pay to at least $7.25.
Yes. Employees get a paid rest period of at least 10 minutes for each four hours worked, plus a reasonable lunch period that starts no earlier than the third hour and no later than the fifth hour of the shift.
If an employer lets an employee work all seven days of a workweek, hours on the seventh day are paid at time and a half. It does not apply if the employee is not permitted to work more than 40 hours that week.
Earned wages are due by the next normal payday or within 14 days of separation, whichever is later, whether the employee quit or was fired.
At least semimonthly. Each payment must cover wages earned up to a day no more than 18 days before payday.