UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 287
Page 1 of 6
XXXX 2/1/2024 4:26 PM Jacketed
AN ACT relating to counties and declaring an emergency. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 337.285 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) No employer shall employ any of his or her employees for a work week longer than 4
forty (40) hours, unless such employee receives compensation for his or her 5
employment in excess of forty (40) hours in a work week at a rate of not less than 6
one and one-half (1-1/2) times the hourly wage rate at which he or she is employed. 7
(2) This provision shall not apply to the following: 8
(a) Employees of retail stores engaged in work connected with selling, 9
purchasing, and distributing merchandise, wares, goods, articles, or 10
commodities; 11
(b) Employees of restaurant, hotel, and motel operations; 12
(c) Employees as defined and exempted from the overtime provision of the Fair 13
Labor Standards Act in Sections 213(b)(1), 213(b)(6), 213(b)(10), and 14
213(b)(17) of Title 29, U.S.C.; 15
(d) Employees whose function is to provide twenty-four (24) hour residential care 16
on the employer's premises in a parental role to children who are primarily 17
dependent, neglected, and abused and who are in the care of private nonprofit 18
childcaring facilities licensed by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services 19
under KRS 199.640 to 199.670; or 20
(e) Any individual who is employed by a third-party employer or agency other 21
than the family or household using his or her services to provide in-home 22
companionship services for a sick, convalescing, or elderly person. 23
(3) As used in subsection (2) of this section, "companionship services" means those 24
services which provide in-home fellowship, care, and protection for a person who, 25
because of advanced age or physical or mental infirmity, cannot care for his or her 26
own needs. These services may include household work related to the care of the 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 287
Page 2 of 6
XXXX 2/1/2024 4:26 PM Jacketed
aged or infirm person such as meal preparation, bed making, washing of clothes, 1
and other similar services. They may also include the performance of general 2
household work, provided that the household work is incidental, i.e., does not 3
exceed twenty percent (20%) of the total weekly hours worked. The term 4
"companionship services" does not include services relating to the care and 5
protection of the aged or infirm which require and are performed by trained 6
personnel, such as a registered or practical nurse. 7
(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this section or any other chapter 8
of the KRS to the contrary, upon written request by a county or city employee or a 9
Trooper R Class or CVE R Class, made freely and without coercion, pressure, or 10
suggestion by the employer, and upon a written agreement reached between the 11
employer and the county or city employee or the Trooper R Class or CVE R Class 12
before the performance of the work, a county or city employee or a Trooper R Class 13
or CVE R Class who is authorized to work one (1) or more hours in excess of the 14
prescribed hours per week may be granted compensatory leave on an hour-for-hour 15
basis. Upon the written request by a county or city employee or a Trooper R Class 16
or CVE R Class, made freely and without coercion, pressure, or suggestion by the 17
employer, and upon a written agreement reached between the employer and the 18
county or city employee or the Trooper R Class or CVE R Class, before the 19
performance of the work, a county or city employee or a Trooper R Class or CVE R 20
Class who is not exempt from the provisions of the Federal Fair Labor Standards 21
Act of 1938, as amended, 29 U.S.C. secs. 201 et seq., may be granted compensatory 22
time in lieu of overtime pay, at the rate of not less than one and one-half (1-1/2) 23
hours for each hour the county or city employee or the Trooper R Class or CVE R 24
Class is authorized to work in excess of forty (40) hours in a work week. 25
(5) (a) Upon the request of the county or city employee or the Trooper R Class or 26
CVE R Class, and as provided in subsection (4) of this section, compensatory 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 287
Page 3 of 6
XXXX 2/1/2024 4:26 PM Jacketed
time shall be awarded as follows: 1
1. A county or city employee who provided work in excess of forty (40) 2
hours in a public safety activity, an emergency response activity, or a 3
seasonal activity as described in 29 C.F.R. sec. 553.24, may accrue not 4
more than four hundred eighty (480) hours of compensatory time; or 5
2. A county or city employee or a Trooper R Class or CVE R Class 6
engaged in other work in excess of forty (40) hours, may accrue not 7
more than two hundred forty (240) hours of compensatory time. 8
(b) A county or city employee or a Trooper R Class or CVE R Class who has 9
accrued four hundred eighty (480) hours of compensatory time off pursuant to 10
paragraph (a)1. of this subsection, or two hundred forty (240) hours of 11
compensatory time off pursuant to paragraph (a)2. of this subsection, shall for 12
additional overtime hours of work, be paid overtime compensation. 13
(6) A county or city employee or a Trooper R Class or CVE R Class who has accrued 14
compensatory time off as provided in subsection (4) of this section, and who 15
requested the use of compensatory time, shall be permitted by the employer to use 16
the compensatory time within a reasonable period after making the request if the 17
use of the compensatory time does not unduly disrupt the operations of the 18
employer. Mere inconvenience to the employer shall not constitute a sufficient basis 19
for denial of a county or city employee's request or a Trooper R Class or CVE R 20
Class request for compensatory time off. 21
(7) If compensation is paid to a county or city employee or a Trooper R Class or CVE 22
R Class for accrued compensatory time off, the compensation shall be paid at the 23
regular rate earned by the county or city employee or the Trooper R Class or CVE 24
R Class at the time the county or city employee or the Trooper R Class or CVE R 25
Class receives the payment. 26
(8) Upon a county or city employee's termination of employment or the termination of 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 287
Page 4 of 6
XXXX 2/1/2024 4:26 PM Jacketed
employment of a Trooper R Class or CVE R Class, all unused accrued 1
compensatory time shall be paid at a rate of compensation not less than: 2
(a) The average regular rate received by the county or city employee or the 3
Trooper R Class or CVE R Class during the last three (3) years of the 4
employment of the county or city employee or Trooper R Class or CVE R 5
Class; or 6
(b) The final regular rate received by the county or city employee or Trooper R 7
Class or CVE R Class, whichever is higher. 8
(9) Compensatory time shall not be used as a means to avoid statutory overtime 9
compensation. A county or city employee or a Trooper R Class or CVE R Class 10
shall have the right to use compensatory time earned and shall not be coerced to 11
accept more compensatory time than an employer can realistically and in good faith 12
expect to be able to grant within a reasonable period upon the county or city 13
employee or the Trooper R Class or CVE R Class making the request for 14
compensatory time off. 15
(10) Nothing in subsections (4) to (9) of this section shall be construed to supersede any 16
collective bargaining agreement, memorandum of understanding, or any other 17
agreement between the employer and representative of the county or city employees 18
or the Trooper R Class or CVE R Class. 19
(11) As used in subsections (4) to (9) of this section: 20
(a) "County or city employee" means an employee of any county, city, charter 21
county, consolidated local government, unified local government, or urban-22
county government, including an employee of a county or city elected official; 23
(b) "CVE R Class" has the same meaning as in KRS 16.010; and 24
(c) "Trooper R Class" has the same meaning as in KRS 16.010. 25
(12) In addition to the designation of a work week under subsection (1) of this section, 26
local governments, as defined in KRS 95A.210(5), may designate a work period for 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 287
Page 5 of 6
XXXX 2/1/2024 4:26 PM Jacketed
professional firefighter employees as defined in KRS 95A.210. The designated 1
work period shall be not less than one (1) work week of seven (7) consecutive days 2
and not more than four (4) work weeks of twenty-eight (28) consecutive days for 3
purposes of complying with the requirements of the Federal Labor Standards Act of 4
1938, as amended, 29 U.S.C. secs. 201 et seq. This subsection shall not exempt 5
local governments from complying with the overtime requirements set forth in 6
subsection (1) of this section and is intended to: 7
(a) Clarify the option to designate both a work week for compliance with 8
Kentucky law and a work period for compliance with the Fair Labor 9
Standards Act of 1938, as amended, 29 U.S.C. secs. 201 et seq.; and 10
(b) Allow for the application of the partial exemption set forth in 29 U.S.C. sec. 11
207(k) in determining overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 12
1938, as amended, 29 U.S.C. secs. 201 et seq., only. 13
(13) (a) A law enforcement department of a consolidated local government organized 14
under KRS Chapter 67C, [or] a city of the home rule class, or a sheriff's 15
office or county police force, shall not be deemed to have violated subsection 16
(1) of this section with respect to the employment of a peace officer if: 17
1. The officer works eighty (80) hours or less in a work period of fourteen 18
(14) consecutive days; and 19
2. a. For a law enforcement department of a consolidated local 20
government organized under KRS Chapter 67C, the law 21
enforcement department and a representative of a collective 22
bargaining unit certified under KRS 67C.408 that includes the 23
officer agree to the exception.[; or] 24
b. For a law enforcement department of a city of the home rule class, 25
the law enforcement department and a representative of a 26
collective bargaining unit recognized by the city to collectively 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 24 RS BR 287
Page 6 of 6
XXXX 2/1/2024 4:26 PM Jacketed
bargain for the officer, if there is a collective bargaining unit, 1
agree to the exception. If there is no collective bargaining unit 2
representing the officer in a city of the home rule class, only the 3
requirement in subparagraph 1. of this paragraph shall be met. 4
c. For a sheriff's office or a county police force, the sheriff's office 5
or county police force and a representative of a collective 6
bargaining unit recognized by the county to collectively bargain 7
for a sheriff's deputy or county police officer, if there is a 8
collective bargaining unit, agree to the exception. If there is no 9
collective bargaining unit representing the sheriff's deputy or 10
county police officer, only the requirement in subparagraph 1. of 11
this paragraph shall be met. 12
(b) It is the intent of this subsection to allow the employment of a peace officer 13
for longer than forty (40) hours in any seven (7) consecutive days within a 14
fourteen (14) day work period without incurring the obligation to pay a rate of 15
not less than one and one-half (1-1/2) times the officer's hourly wage under 16
subsection (1) of this section. 17
Section 2. Whereas recruiting and retaining qualified law enforcement officers 18
to sheriff's offices and county police forces is crucial to the safety and well-being of the 19
citizens of the Commonwealth, an emergency is declared to exist, and this Act takes 20
effect upon its passage and approval by the Governor or upon its otherwise becoming a 21
law. 22