Employers cannot retaliate against employees who report harassment. No negative workplace action can be taken against these employees, whether the complaint is filed within the company, with the Kentucky Human Rights Commission, with the EEOC, or even in a lawsuit. The above was the main and most common category of labor laws that apply to all or some Kentucky employees — but there are other labor laws. Read on as some of the following points may apply to your situation. Assuming they earn at least $684 per week, employees don`t have to be paid at a rate of $1.5 to work more than 40 hours. In Kentucky, the Compliance Division is responsible for enforcing health and safety standards in both the public and private sectors. Please note that this guide was written in the second quarter of 2022, so changes to labor laws that were incorporated later may not be included in this Kentucky labor laws guide. After returning to work, the employee should be entitled to the same wage increases and other benefits as if he or she had been at work all the time. KY labor laws are laws that protect workers while granting Kentucky employers a number of rights.
Most of these labor laws protect workers in situations related to minimum wage, overtime pay, and discrimination in the workplace. Employers covered by the RSA are required to pay employees overtime pay equal to one and a half times their regular rate for all hours worked in a work week of more than 40 hours, unless the employee is otherwise exempt. A safe work environment is required by Kentucky federal and state laws. At the federal level, occupational safety is regulated by the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), passed by Congress in 1970. If you are an employee and notice a safety or health hazard in your workplace, you should file a complaint with the ministry. While federal law protects employees from discrimination if a business has 15 or more employees, Kentucky law applies to businesses with eight or more employees. These laws are enforced by the Kentucky Human Rights Commission. In order to comply with all regulations, employers must carry out educational and advisory activities to ensure safe and healthy working conditions.
Overtime pay regulations can be found in Ky. Rev. stat. § 337.285. If an employee works more than 40 hours per week, he must generally be paid one and a half times the normal wage at which he is employed. This does not apply to retail store employees who perform work related to the sale, purchase and distribution of goods, goods, goods, articles or merchandise, or to employees of restaurants, hotels and motels. The FMLA states that all employees have the right to use 12 weeks of unpaid absence with job protection in a year for many domestic and medical reasons. Kentucky employers are required to pay their employees a minimum wage of at least $7.25 per hour. This minimum wage corresponds to the national minimum wage. The federal minimum wage is set by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), which oversees laws on multiple hours and wages.
If an employee feels that their employer is not complying with the Proper Washroom Break Policy, they should feel safe by contacting OSHA. It is illegal for employers to retaliate against an employee who has reported unhealthy or unsafe working conditions. This summary does not constitute qualified legal advice. Laws are always subject to change and may vary from municipality to municipality. It is up to you to ensure that you comply with all the laws and statutes of your region. If you need additional compliance assistance, we recommend contacting a qualified attorney, checking with your local authorities, or registering with Homebase for help from our certified HR professionals. For this reason, there is an extension of this law that any state can apply to include small businesses with fewer than 20 employees. This extension is called „mini-COBRA“ laws. The law also clearly states that, for the types of leave required, employees must not suffer any negative consequences upon returning to work. The FMLA contains special provisions for employees who need time off work to care for a family member who is seriously injured during military service. In this case, FMLA protects the employee for up to 26 weeks per year.
Breastfeeding women need time throughout the day to express their milk, or they may suffer from reduced intake and extreme discomfort. As a result, new labour laws insist that employers give breastfeeding workers a reasonable break to express their milk. Forty hours per week is a regular requirement for full-time employees, such as those who work Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Discrimination in the workplace is not only unethical, but also illegal – these laws apply at the federal level and apply to the termination of employees. Employers are prohibited from monitoring their employees using electronic monitoring devices in personal areas of the workplace, such as washrooms or change rooms. An employer cannot refuse to hire, fire or discriminate against a person with respect to terms and conditions of employment because they are a smoker or non-smoker, provided they comply with a workplace policy regarding smoking. Ky. Rev. stat. § 344.040.
The employer cannot require an employee to abstain from tobacco products outside of employment. However, it is not illegal to offer incentives or benefits to workers who participate in smoking cessation programs, nor to make there a difference between the contribution rates of smokers and non-smokers compared to an employer-sponsored health care plan. What you need to know about Kentucky`s so-called „right to work“ laws, which prohibit employment contracts that require non-unionized employees to pay monthly dues in exchange for representation. Minors under the age of 18 are not allowed to work five hours without a 30-minute lunch break. Kentucky employers must offer all employees at least 4 hours of elective leave. Workers who take time off to vote should not be penalized when they return to work. The state of Kentucky adheres to the minimum wage requirement set out in federal law – $7.25 per hour worked. OSHA says employers are required to continuously review safety conditions for deficiencies and irregularities and to continually work to improve them.