2019 Kentucky Minimum Wage
The 2019 Kentucky Minimum Wage is $7.25.
Effective 2019-01-01Source: Kentucky Wage and Hour Laws (Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet)Verified 2026-08-30
Compared with 2018
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2018.
| Item | 2018 | 2019 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly | $7.25 | $7.25 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Employers and employees covered by Kentucky wage and hour laws
What changed this year, and why
Kentucky's minimum wage for 2019
Common questions
- What is the minimum wage in Kentucky for 2019?
- The minimum wage in Kentucky is $7.25 per hour for 2019. This is the same rate as in 2018.
Minors, students and training wages: who may be paid less than the rate on this page
Kentucky's minimum wage law provides for certain exemptions from both the minimum wage and overtime requirements. The document does not specify all the categories of workers who may qualify for these exemptions, but it directs employers and employees to contact the Division of Wages and Hours for detailed guidance. Workers in Kentucky who believe they may fall under an exemption category, or who are uncertain about whether their employer is paying them the correct rate, should reach out to the state labor office at (502)564-3534 for clarification on their specific situation and rights under Kentucky law.
Certain exemptions from minimum wage and overtime apply. For questions, please call (502)564-3534.
Kentucky Wage and Hour Laws (Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet)
Overtime is paid at one and one-half times the regular rate
In Kentucky, when employees work more than forty hours in a workweek, employers must pay them at a premium rate for those extra hours. The rate of pay for time in excess of forty hours shall be not less than one and one-half the hourly rate employed. This means that for every hour worked beyond the forty-hour threshold in a single workweek, a Kentucky worker must receive at least one and one-half times their regular hourly wage. Kentucky also has a separate provision requiring time and a half for work performed on the seventh day of a workweek, unless the employee did not work more than forty hours that week. Employers must track hours worked each day and each week, and must record both the regular hourly rate of pay and the overtime hourly rate for hours in excess of forty hours in a workweek. These overtime protections apply to most employees covered by Kentucky wage law, though certain exemptions exist that workers should verify with the Division of Wages and Hours.
The rate of pay for time in excess of forty hours shall be not less than one and one-half the hourly rate employed.
Kentucky Wage and Hour Laws (Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet)
Who to ask about this rate, and where to take a wage complaint
Workers in Kentucky who have questions about minimum wage rates, overtime requirements, or exemptions should contact the Division of Wages and Hours. The document provides a specific phone number for inquiries about exemptions from minimum wage and overtime rules: (502)564-3534. If an employee believes their employer is not paying the proper wage rate or is making unlawful deductions, this is the state office to contact for guidance on filing a complaint or understanding their rights under Kentucky wage and hour law. The Division of Wages and Hours is part of the Education and Labor Cabinet and is located in Frankfort, Kentucky.
Certain exemptions from minimum wage and overtime apply. For questions, please call (502)564-3534.
Kentucky Wage and Hour Laws (Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet)
When tips, meals or lodging count toward the minimum wage
In Kentucky, employers may count tips toward the minimum wage for employees who regularly receive tips. The law states that any employee engaged in an occupation in which more than $30 dollars per month is customarily and regularly received in tips, the employer may pay a minimum of $2.13 per hour if the employer's records can establish for each week where credit is taken, when adding the tips received to wages paid, not less than the minimum wage is received by the employee. This means Kentucky employers must ensure that the combination of the $2.13 hourly wage plus tips equals at least the standard minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for each workweek. If tips fall short in any given week, the employer must make up the difference. Kentucky law also prohibits employers from using tips toward payment of the minimum wage in certain ways and requires tip pools to be segregated from other business records and open to participants. The records section also mentions that employers may make additions to cash wages at cost for meals, board, and lodging.
Any employee engaged in an occupation in which more than $30 dollars per month is customarily and regularly received in tips, the employer may pay a minimum of $2.13 per hour if the employer' records can establish for each week where credit is taken, when adding the tips received to wages paid, not less than the minimum wage is received by the employee.
Kentucky Wage and Hour Laws (Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet)
What an employer may deduct from your pay
Kentucky law prohibits employers from withholding any part of an agreed wage unless one of a narrow set of exceptions applies. The only lawful deductions are those the employer must make because local, state or federal law requires them, deductions the employee authorizes in writing for insurance or medical dues, other written employee authorizations that do not amount to a rebate from the bargained wage, and union dues authorized through a collective bargaining agreement. Kentucky goes further and flatly bans several specific deductions: fines, cash shortages from a till used by two or more people, breakage, losses from honoring bad checks when the employee had discretion to refuse them, and losses from defective work, lost property or customer nonpayment when they are not the employee's willful fault. As a result, a Kentucky employer cannot push any of those ordinary business costs below the worker's wage in a way that drags the rate under the state minimum.
No employer shall deduct the following from the wages of employees: a) Fines b) Cash shortages in a common money till, cash box or register used by two (2) or more persons; c) Breakage; d) Losses due to acceptance by an employee of checks which are subsequently dishonored if such employee is given discretion to accept or reject any check; or e) 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 willful or intentional disregard of employer's interest.
Kentucky Wage and Hour Laws (Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet)
How each figure was verified
Each number below was read from a stored copy of the document named beside it, and checked to occur word for word in the quoted sentence. The digest is of that stored text.
Kentucky Wage and Hour Laws (Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet)
- Hourly
MINIMUM WAGE = $7.25 per hour
Other years
Every Kentucky Minimum Wage year · Minimum Wage in every state