Kentucky Wage Payment Laws

Frequency of Wage Payments

An employer must pay its employees no less frequently than twice per month. An employer must pay its employees within 18 days of the end of the pay period in which the wages were earned. An employer must pay any employee who is absent at the time fixed for payment, or who, for any other reason, is not paid at that time, within six (6) days of the employee’s demand for payment. KY Statute 337.020

Manner of Wage Payments

An employer may pay wages by

cash
check payable
direct deposit
payroll card account

KY Statute 337.010

Direct Deposit

An employer may pay wages by direct deposit so long as the employee has the ability to withdraw the entire amount of the pay check without deduction and without paying a fee. Kentucky’s Department of Labor indicates that an employer may require an employee to be paid by direct deposit. KY Labor Cabinet – Workplace Standards Regulations

Payroll card

Kentucky labor laws allow employers to pay employees their wages and salaries by payroll card. To implement a payroll card account for an employee, the employer may not charge the employee an activation fee. Also, the employer must allow the employee to make at least one (1) withdrawal per pay period, without charge, for any amount up to and including the full account balance. KY Statute 337.010(1)(c)(1)

Payment upon Separation from Employment

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

When employee is discharged or laid off, an employer must pay all wages due by the next regular pay day or within 14 days of the separation from employment, whichever is occurs last. KY Statute 337.055

Employees who quit or resign

When employee quits, an employer must pay all wages due by the next regular pay day or within 14 days of the separation from employment, whichever is occurs last. KY Statute 337.055

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

When an employee resigns employment due to a labor dispute, an employer must pay all wages due by the next regular pay day or within 14 days of the separation from employment, whichever occurs last. KY Statute 337.055

Wages in Dispute

Kentucky does not have any laws requiring an employer to pay an employee wages conceded to be due when involved in a wage dispute with the employee.

Deductions from Wages

An employer may not withhold or deduct any wages from an employee’s paycheck for:

fines
cash shortages in a common money till, cash box or register used by two (2) or more persons
breakage
losses due to acceptance of a bad check
losses due to defective or faulty workmanship
lost or stolen property
damage to property
default of customer credit, or nonpayment for goods or services received by the customer if such losses are not attributable to employee’s intentional or willful disregard of the employer’s interest

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

authorized to do so by local, state, or federal law,
the employee has consented in writing to the deduction to cover:
- insurance premiums,
- hospital and medical dues, or
- other deductions not amounting to a rebate or deduction from the standard wage arrived at by collective bargaining or pursuant to a wage agreement or statute, or union dues.

KY Statute 337.060

Uniforms, Tools, and Other Equipment Necessary for Employment

Kentucky does not have any laws prohibiting an employer from requiring an employee to purchase a uniform, tools, or other items necessary for employment.

Pre-hire Medical, Physical, or Drug Tests

An employer may not 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. KY Statute 3 36.220

Notice of Wage Reduction

Kentucky does not have any laws addressing when or how an employer may reduce an employee’s wages or whether an employer must provide employees notice prior to instituting a wage reduction.

Statement of Wages (Pay Stub)

Employers who employ ten (10) or more employees must provide employees at the time of payment a statement indicating the amount of each deduction and the general purpose for which the deduction is made. KY Statute 337.070

Record Keeping Requirements

An employer must keep for at least one year a record of:

Name in full, and on the same record, the employee’s identifying symbol or number if such is used in place of name on any time, work, or payroll records;
Social Security number;
Home address, including zip code;
Date of birth, if under eighteen (18);
Sex and occupation in which employed;
Time of day and day of week on which the employee’s workweek begins. If the employee is part of a work force or employed in or by an employer all of whose workers have a workweek beginning at the same time on the same day, a single notation of the time off the day and beginning day of the workweek for the whole work force will suffice. If, however, any employee or group of employees has a workweek beginning and ending at a different time, a separate notation shall then be kept for that employee or group of employees;
Hours worked each workday and each workweek (for purposes of this section, a “workday” shall be any consecutive twenty-four (24) hours);
Regular rate of pay and total straight-time earnings or wages for all hours worked during the workweek;
Total overtime excess compensation for the workweek; that is, the excess compensation for overtime worked which amount is over and above all straight-time earnings and wages for the workweek;
Total additions to or deductions from wages paid each pay period. Every employer making additions to or deductions from wages shall also maintain, in individual employee accounts, a record of the dates, amounts, and nature of the items which make up the total addition and deductions;
Total wages paid each pay period and date of payment.

KY Statute 337.320; 803 KAR 1:066

Notice Requirements

Kentucky does not have any laws requiring employers to provide employees, whether at hire or at any other time, of notice of wage rates, dates of pay, employment policies, fringe benefits, or other terms and conditions of employment.