KENTUCKY - Workers’ Rights

Definition of agricultural worker under state law:

• “Agriculture” is defined for the purposes of the state’s workers’ compensation law at Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 342.0011.

Wages and Overtime

Minimum Wage

• Kentucky has a state minimum wage law.

• The Kentucky minimum wage is currently $7.25 per hour, with automatic increases to match any minimum wage increases under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). ( Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 337.275)

• Agricultural workers are exempt from the Kentucky minimum wage law. (Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 337.010(2)(a)(1)) As used in KRS 337.275 to 337.325, 337.345, and 337.385 to 337.405,” “employee” shall not include “any individual employed in agriculture.” (Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 337.010(2)(a)(1))

Overtime

•  Kentucky has a state law providing for overtime pay for employees working longer than forty hours in a week.  (Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 337.285)

• Agricultural workers are exempted from Kentucky’s 40-hour per week overtime law because they are excluded from the definition of employee. (Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 337.010(2)(a)(1))

State Enforcement Agency

State Enforcement Agency:

Commonwealth of Kentucky Labor Cabinet, Division of Wages and Hours

Website: https://labor.ky.gov/standards/Pages/Wages-and-Hours.aspx#Prevailing_Wage

Relevant Forms: https://apps.labor.ky.gov/onlinecomplaint/

Occupational Safety and Health

Workers’ Compensation

• Kentucky has a workers’ compensation statute. (Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 342.001 –342.990)

• Agricultural workers are not covered by the state workers’ compensation law. (Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 342.650(5)). Employers may elect to provide workers’ compensation coverage to their employees. (Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 342.660(1))

State Enforcement Agency:

Commonwealth of Kentucky, Labor Cabinet; Workers’ Compensation, Department of Workers’ Claims

Website: https://labor.ky.gov/comp/Pages/default.aspx

Relevant Forms: https://labor.ky.gov/Documents/Application%20for%20Resolution%20of%20a%20Claim%20-%20Injury.pdf

Field Sanitation

• Kentucky does not have a state law regarding field sanitation.

Pesticide Safety

• The Kentucky Fertilizer and Pesticide Storage, and Pesticide Use and Application Act regulates the use of pesticides in the Commonwealth. (Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 217B.010, et seq.; 302 Ken. Admin. Regs. 27:010, et seq.)

• Suspected pesticide poisoning is not required to be reported by health care providers.

State Enforcement Agency:

Kentucky Department of Agriculture, Division of Environmental Sciences

Website: https://www.kyagr.com/consumer/division-of-environmental-services.html

Right to Join Unions and Collective Bargaining in Agriculture

• In 2017, Kentucky enacted a “right-to-work” act. The statute guarantees employees the right to organize and collectively bargain free from restraint or coercion from employers. (Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 336.130(1) – (2)).

• Agricultural workers are not exempt from Kentucky laws protecting the right to organize and collectively bargain.

State Legal Services Organizations

Kentucky Equal Justice Center-Workers’ Rights Project

http://www.kyequaljustice.org/

Southern Migrant Legal Services – A Project of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, Inc.

https://www.trla.org/southern-migrant-legal-services-smls