Overtime laws by state › Kentucky

Kentucky Overtime Laws (2026)

1.5x after 40 hours in a week. Employees who work all seven days of a workweek receive 1.5x for hours worked on the seventh day (with exceptions for certain industries and workers who were absent part of the week).

The rules

  • Weekly: 1.5x the regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek.
  • Seventh day: premium pay for working all seven days of the workweek (see notes).
  • Exempt salary floor: $684.00/week ($35,568.00/year) (federal FLSA level).

Statute: KRS 337.050. Source: state agency page. As of October 25, 2026.

Worked example at $20.00/hour

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Straight time — 40 h × $20.00$800.00
Overtime 1.5× — 5 h × $30.00$150.00
Gross for the week$950.00

Federal overtime deduction: $50.00 of this week's overtime is the half-time premium on hours over 40 that qualifies. Why

Run your own hours for Kentucky

Who is covered

Overtime protections cover "non-exempt" employees. Most hourly workers are non-exempt. Salaried workers are exempt only if they earn at least $684.00 per week in Kentucky and their primary duties meet the executive, administrative, professional, computer or outside-sales tests. Independent contractors are not covered by overtime law at all, which is why misclassification claims often start as overtime claims.

How the regular rate works

Overtime is 1.5x the regular rate, which is all straight-time compensation for the week (hourly pay plus nondiscretionary bonuses, shift differentials and commissions) divided by hours worked. Discretionary bonuses, gifts, expense reimbursements and paid time off are excluded. An employee paid $20/hour with a $100 attendance bonus in a 50-hour week has a regular rate of $22.00, and ten overtime hours pay $33.00 each — not $30.00.

Federal baseline

The Fair Labor Standards Act requires 1.5x after 40 hours in a workweek for covered, non-exempt employees, with a $684.00/week salary floor for the white-collar exemptions. Where Kentucky law is more generous than the FLSA, the more generous rule applies; where it is less generous, the FLSA controls. Federal overtime rules

Sources

Last reviewed October 25, 2026. Rules shown are for private-sector employees; public employers, agriculture, domestic work, healthcare and transportation carry separate exemptions.