Kansas Wage Payment Laws

Frequency of Wage Payments

An employer must pay wages at least once per month on regular paydays designated by the employer. KS Statute 44-314

Manner of Wage Payments

An employer may pay wages by:

• cash;
• check or draft which is negotiable in the community wherein the place of employment is located;
• direct deposit into an account at a financial institution designated by the employee, so long as employees who fail to designate an account for the deposit are paid either by cash or check; or
• payroll card so long as employees can make at least one (1) withdrawal per pay period at no cost to the employee for an amount up to and including the total amount of the employee’s net wages and the employer does not charge initiation, loading or other participation fees, with the exception of the cost required to replace a lost, stolen or damaged payroll card.

KS Statute 44-314

Direct Deposit

An employer may pay wages by direct deposit, so long as the employee is able to designate the financial institution with which the wages are deposited and employees who do not designate an account for the wage deposit are paid either by cash or check.

If an employer chooses to change their pay system to pay employees by direct deposit or by payroll card, it must at least thirty (30) days prior to the change:

• conduct one or more employee forums to educate employees regarding the use of a direct deposit or payroll card program offered by the employer; or
• distribute educational information to employees about direct deposits or payroll cards as they may be used under the payroll card program offered by the employer.

KS Statute 44-314

Payroll Card

An employer may pay by payroll card so long as employees can make at least one (1) withdrawal per pay period at no cost to the employee for an amount up to and including the total amount of the employee’s net wages and the employer does not charge initiation, loading or other participation fees, with the exception of the cost required to replace a lost, stolen or damaged payroll card.

A payroll card is a card issued through an electronic fund transfer by an employer, directly or by a bank or other entity on behalf of the employer, to an employee on which employer’s load the employee’s net wages on regular paydays. The employee must be able to access the wages via the payroll card.

KS Statute 44-314

Payment upon Separation from Employment

Employees who are fired, discharged, terminated, or laid off

When an employer discharges or lays off an employee, the employer must pay the employee all wages due by the next regular payday on which he or she would have been paid if still employed. KS Statute 44-315

Employees who quit or resign

When an employee quits, the employer must pay the employee all wages due by the next regular payday on which he or she would have been paid if still employed. KS Statute 44-315

Employees who are suspended or resigns due to a labor dispute (strike)

When an employee resigns employment due to a labor dispute, the employer must pay the employee all wages due by the next regular payday on which he or she would have been paid if still employed. KS Statute 44-315

Wages in Dispute

In case of a dispute over the amount of wages due, the employer must timely pay, without conditions and no later than the next regular payday following the concession, all wages, or parts thereof, conceded by him to be due, leaving to the employee all remedies he might otherwise be entitled to as to any balance claimed.

Unless payment is made by a binding settlement agreement, the acceptance by an employee of a payment does not constitute a release as to the balance of his claim, and any release required by an employer as a condition to payment is a violation of the law and will be null and void. KS Statute 44-316

Deductions from Wages

An employer cannot deduct wages from an employers paycheck or fine an employee for any of the following:

• cash shortages
• breakage, damage, or loss of the employer’s property
• required uniforms
• required tools
• other items necessary for employment

An employer may not make any other deductions from an employee’s wages, unless:

• the employer is required or empowered to do so by state or federal law;
• the deductions are for medical, surgical or hospital care or service, without financial benefit to the employer, and are openly, clearly and in due course recorded in the employer’s books;
• the employer has a signed authorization by the employee consenting to the deductions for a lawful purpose accruing to the benefit of the employee; or
• the deductions are for contributions attributable to automatic enrollment in a retirement plan established by the employer described in sections 401(k), 403(b), 408, 408A or 457 of the Internal Revenue Code.

KS Statute 44-319; KS Regs. 49-20-1

Uniforms, Tools, and Other Equipment Necessary for Employment

Kansas does not have any laws addressing whether an employer may require an employee to purchase a uniform, tools, or other equipment necessary for a job. Kansas also does not have any laws addressing whether an employer may require employees to pay laundering costs for required uniforms.

Pre-hire Medical, Physical, or Drug Tests

Kansas does not have any laws prohibiting an employer from requiring an applicant or employee to pay the cost of a medical examination or the cost of furnishing any records required by the employer as a condition of employment.

Notice of Wage Reduction

An employer must notify employees in writing or through a posted notice maintained in a place accessible to his employees or as required by a collective bargaining agreement, of any changes to wage rates, day of payment, or place of payment prior to the change. KS Statute 44-320

Statement of Wages (Pay Stub)

An employer must furnish each employee with an itemized statement of deductions made from his wages for each pay period such deductions are made. KS Statute 44-320

Record Keeping Requirements

An employer must make and keep, for a period of not less than three (3) years, in or about the premises wherein any employee is employed, a record of:

• the name and occupation of each employee,
• the rate of pay and the amount paid each pay period to each such employee, and
• the hours worked each day and each work week by each such employee.

KS Statute 44-1209

Notice Requirements

An employer must, upon request by an employee:

• notify such employee in writing or as required by a collective bargaining agreement, of the rate of pay and of the day and place of payment.
• notify such employee in writing or through a posted notice maintained in a place accessible to his employees or as required by a collective bargaining agreement, of any changes to wage rates, day of payment, or place of payment; and
• make available to such employee in writing or through a posted notice maintained in a place accessible to his employees or as required by a collective bargaining agreement, employment practices and policies with regard to vacation pay, sick leave and any other benefits to which the employee is entitled and which have a direct bearing upon wages payable.

KS Statute 44-320