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AN ACT relating to wages. 1
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2
Section 1. KRS 337.010 is amended to read as follows: 3
(1) As used in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise: 4
(a) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the Department of Workplace 5
Standards under the direction and supervision of the secretary of the 6
Education and Labor Cabinet; 7
(b) "Department" means the Department of Workplace Standards in the 8
Education and Labor Cabinet; 9
(c) 1. "Wages" includes any compensation due to an employee by reason of 10
his or her employment, including salaries, commissions, vested vacation 11
pay, overtime pay, severance or dismissal pay, earned bonuses, and any 12
other similar advantages agreed upon by the employer and the employee 13
or provided to employees as an established policy. The wages shall be 14
payable in legal tender of the United States, checks on banks, direct 15
deposits, or payroll card accounts convertible into cash on demand at 16
full face value, subject to the allowances made in this chapter. However, 17
an employee may not be charged an activation fee and the payroll card 18
account shall provide the employee with the ability, without charge, to 19
make at least one (1) withdrawal per pay period for any amount up to 20
and including the full account balance. 21
2. For the purposes of calculating hourly wage rates for scheduled 22
overtime for professional firefighters, as defined in KRS 95A.210[(8)], 23
"wages" shall not include the distribution to qualified professional 24
firefighters by local governments of supplements received from the 25
Firefighters Foundation Program Fund. For the purposes of calculating 26
hourly wage rates for unscheduled overtime for professional firefighters, 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1459
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as defined in KRS 95A.210[(9)], "wages" shall include the distribution 1
to qualified professional firefighters by local governments of 2
supplements received from the Firefighters Foundation Program Fund; 3
(d) "Employer" is any person, either individual, corporation, partnership, agency, 4
or firm who employs an employee and includes any person, either individual, 5
corporation, partnership, agency, or firm acting directly or indirectly in the 6
interest of an employer in relation to an employee; and 7
(e) "Employee" is any person employed by or suffered or permitted to work for 8
an employer, except that: 9
1. Notwithstanding any voluntary agreement entered into between the 10
United States Department of Labor and a franchisee, neither a franchisee 11
nor a franchisee's employee shall be deemed to be an employee of the 12
franchisor for any purpose under this chapter; and 13
2. Notwithstanding any voluntary agreement entered into between the 14
United States Department of Labor and a franchisor, neither a franchisor 15
nor a franchisor's employee shall be deemed to be an employee of the 16
franchisee for any purpose under this chapter. 17
For purposes of this paragraph, "franchisee" and "franchisor" have the same 18
meanings as in 16 C.F.R. sec. 436.1. 19
(2) As used in KRS 337.275 to 337.325, 337.345, and 337.385 to 337.405, unless the 20
context requires otherwise: 21
(a) "Employee" is any person employed by or suffered or permitted to work for 22
an employer, but shall not include: 23
1. Any individual employed in agriculture; 24
2. Any individual employed in a bona fide executive, administrative, 25
supervisory, or professional capacity, or in the capacity of outside 26
salesman, or as an outside collector as the terms are defined by 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1459
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administrative regulations of the commissioner; 1
3. Any individual employed by the United States; 2
4. Any individual employed in domestic service in or about a private 3
home. The provisions of this section shall include individuals employed 4
in domestic service in or about the home of an employer where there is 5
more than one (1) domestic servant regularly employed; 6
5. Any individual classified and given a certificate by the commissioner 7
showing a status of learner, apprentice, worker with a disability, 8
sheltered workshop employee, and student under administrative 9
procedures and administrative regulations prescribed and promulgated 10
by the commissioner. This certificate shall authorize employment at the 11
wages, less than the established fixed minimum fair wage rates, and for 12
the period of time fixed by the commissioner and stated in the certificate 13
issued to the person; 14
6. Employees of retail stores, service industries, hotels, motels, and 15
restaurant operations whose average annual gross volume of sales made 16
for business done is less than five hundred thousand dollars 17
($500,000)[ninety-five thousand dollars ($95,000)] for the five (5) 18
preceding years exclusive of excise taxes at the retail level or if the 19
employee is the parent, spouse, child, or other member of his or her 20
employer's immediate family; 21
7. Any individual employed as a baby-sitter in an employer's home, or an 22
individual employed as a companion by a sick, convalescing, or elderly 23
person or by the person's immediate family, to care for that sick, 24
convalescing, or elderly person and whose principal duties do not 25
include housekeeping; 26
8. Any individual engaged in the delivery of newspapers to the consumer; 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1459
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9. Any individual subject to the provisions of KRS Chapters 7, 16, 27A, 1
30A, and 18A provided that the secretary of the Personnel Cabinet shall 2
have the authority to prescribe by administrative regulation those 3
emergency employees, or others, who shall receive overtime pay rates 4
necessary for the efficient operation of government and the protection of 5
affected employees; 6
10. Any employee employed by an establishment which is an organized 7
nonprofit camp, religious, or nonprofit educational conference center, if 8
it does not operate for more than two hundred ten (210) days in any 9
calendar year; 10
11. Any employee whose function is to provide twenty-four (24) hour 11
residential care on the employer's premises in a parental role to children 12
who are primarily dependent, neglected, and abused and who are in the 13
care of private, nonprofit childcaring facilities licensed by the Cabinet 14
for Health and Family Services under KRS 199.640 to 199.670; 15
12. Any individual whose function is to provide twenty-four (24) hour 16
residential care in his or her own home as a family caregiver, family 17
home provider, or adult foster care provider and who is approved to 18
provide family caregiver services to an adult with a disability through a 19
contractual relationship with a community board for mental health or 20
individuals with an intellectual disability established under KRS 21
210.370 to 210.460 or through a contractual relationship with a certified 22
waiver provider as defined in 907 KAR 7:005 sec. 1(5), or is certified or 23
licensed by the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to provide adult 24
foster care; 25
13. A direct seller as defined in Section 3508(b)(2) of the Internal Revenue 26
Code of 1986; or 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1459
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14. Any individual whose function is to provide behavior support services, 1
behavior programming services, case management services, community 2
living support services, positive behavior support services, or respite 3
services through a contractual relationship with a certified waiver 4
provider, as defined in 907 KAR 7:005 sec. 1(5), pursuant to a 1915(c) 5
home and community based services waiver program, as defined in 907 6
KAR 7:005 sec. 1(2); 7
(b) "Agriculture" means farming in all its branches, including cultivation and 8
tillage of the soil; dairying; production, cultivation, growing, and harvesting 9
of any agricultural or horticultural commodity; raising of livestock, bees, 10
furbearing animals, or poultry; and any practice, including any forestry or 11
lumbering operations, performed on a farm in conjunction with farming 12
operations, including preparation and delivery of produce to storage, to 13
market, or to carriers for transportation to market; 14
(c) "Gratuity" means voluntary monetary contribution received by an employee 15
from a guest, patron, or customer for services rendered; 16
(d) "Tipped employee" means any employee engaged in an occupation in which 17
he or she customarily and regularly receives more than thirty dollars ($30) per 18
month in tips; and 19
(e) "U.S.C." means the United States Code. 20
Section 2. KRS 337.275 is amended to read as follows: 21
(1) (a) Except as may otherwise be provided by this chapter, every employer shall 22
pay to each of his or her employees wages at a rate of not less than:[ five 23
dollars and eighty-five cents ($5.85) an hour beginning on June 26, 2007, not 24
less than six dollars and fifty-five cents ($6.55) an hour beginning July 1, 25
2008, and not less than] 26
1. Seven dollars and twenty-five cents ($7.25) an hour beginning July 1, 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1459
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2009; 1
2. Eleven dollars ($11) an hour beginning on the effective date of this 2
Act; 3
3. Twelve dollars and fifty cents ($12.50) an hour beginning on July 1, 4
2026; 5
4. Fourteen dollars ($14) an hour beginning on July 1, 2027; 6
5. Fifteen dollars and fifty cents ($15.50) an hour beginning on July 1, 7
2028; 8
6. Seventeen dollars ($17) an hour beginning on July 1, 2029; and 9
7. Beginning on July 1, 2030, every employer shall pay any employee a 10
minimum wage based on the percent increase in the nonseasonally 11
adjusted annual average Consumer Price Index for All Urban 12
Consumers, U.S. City Average, All Items, between the two (2) most 13
recent calendar years available as published by the United States 14
Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. 15
(b) If the federal minimum hourly wage as prescribed by 29 U.S.C. sec. 206(a)(1) 16
is increased in excess of the minimum hourly wage in effect under this 17
subsection, the minimum hourly wage under this subsection shall be increased 18
to the same amount, effective on the same date as the federal minimum hourly 19
wage rate. If the state minimum hourly wage is increased to the federal 20
minimum hourly wage, it shall include only the federal minimum hourly rate 21
prescribed in 29 U.S.C. sec. 206(a)(1) and shall not include other wage rates 22
or conditions, exclusions, or exceptions to the federal minimum hourly wage 23
rate. In addition, the increase to the federal minimum hourly wage rate does 24
not extend or modify the scope or coverage of the minimum wage rate 25
required under this chapter. 26
(2) (a) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, for any 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1459
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employee engaged in an occupation in which he or she customarily and 1
regularly receives more than thirty dollars ($30) per month in tips from 2
patrons or others, the employer may pay as a minimum not less than: 3
1. Eight dollars ($8) an hour beginning on the effective date of this Act; 4
2. Ten dollars ($10) an hour beginning on July 1, 2026; 5
3. Twelve dollars ($12) an hour beginning on July 1, 2027; 6
4. Thirteen dollars and fifty cents ($13.50) an hour beginning on July 1, 7
2028; 8
5. Fifteen dollars ($15) an hour beginning on July 1, 2029; and 9
6. Seventeen dollars ($17) an hour beginning on July 1, 2030. 10
(b) If[the hourly wage rate required to be paid a tipped employee under] the 11
federal minimum hourly wage [law ]as prescribed by 29 U.S.C. sec. 203 is 12
increased in excess of the minimum hourly wage in effect under this 13
subsection, the minimum hourly wage under this subsection shall be 14
increased to the same amount, effective on the same date as the federal 15
minimum hourly wage rate. 16
(c) The employer shall establish by his or her records that for each week where 17
credit is taken, when adding tips received to wages paid, not less than the 18
minimum rate prescribed in subsection (1) of this section[29 U.S.C. sec. 203] 19
was received by the employee. No employer shall use all or part of any tips or 20
gratuities received by employees toward the payment of the statutory 21
minimum hourly wage as required by subsection (1) of this section[29 U.S.C. 22
sec. 203]. Nothing, however, shall prevent employees from entering into an 23
agreement to divide tips or gratuities among themselves. 24
(3) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to restrict the power of any city, 25
county, urban-county government, charter county government, consolidated local 26
government, or unified local government to adopt and enforce minimum wage 27 UNOFFICIAL COPY 25 RS BR 1459
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rate ordinances in excess of the requirements of this section so long as they 1
comply with at least the minimum applicable standards set forth in this section. 2
In the case of a consolidated local government, the governing body of the 3
consolidated local government is the only local governing body that may establish 4
a minimum wage under this subsection, and the minimum wage set by that 5
governing body shall apply countywide. 6