2021 Kentucky Minimum Wage
The 2021 Kentucky Minimum Wage is $7.25.
Effective 2021-01-01Source: Kentucky Wage and Hour Laws (Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet)Verified 2026-08-30
Compared with 2020
Every figure on this page is unchanged from 2020.
| Item | 2020 | 2021 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hourly | $7.25 | $7.25 | +$0 (+0.0%) |
Who it applies to
Employers and employees subject to Kentucky wage and hour law
What changed this year, and why
Kentucky's hourly minimum wage for 2021
Common questions
- What was the minimum hourly wage in Kentucky in 2021?
- The minimum hourly wage in Kentucky was $7.25 in 2021, the same rate that applied in 2020.
- Is there a separate minimum wage for tipped employees?
- Kentucky law allows employers to pay tipped employees a lower base wage, provided the employee's tips bring total compensation to at least the full minimum wage each week.
Overtime is paid at one and one-half times the regular rate
Kentucky law requires that any employee who works beyond a standard workweek must be paid at a premium rate for the excess hours. The rate of pay for time beyond the weekly threshold shall be not less than one and one-half the hourly rate employed. This means that if your regular hourly pay in Kentucky is $7.25, your overtime rate must be at least one and one-half times that amount for each hour worked beyond the weekly limit. Additionally, Kentucky requires that any employee who works seven days in a single workweek must be paid time and a half for all hours worked on the seventh day, unless the total hours that week did not exceed the weekly threshold. These overtime protections apply to covered, nonexempt employees across the state. Employers in Kentucky must calculate overtime on a per-workweek basis and may not average hours across multiple weeks. For questions about overtime pay, contact the Division of Wages and Hours for assistance.
No employer shall employ any employee for a workweek longer than forty hours unless such employee receives compensation for employment in excess of forty hours in a workweek. 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
If you have questions about the minimum wage rate in Kentucky, believe your employer is paying you less than $7.25 per hour, or need to file a wage complaint, you should contact the Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet, Division of Wages and Hours. The Division is located at the Mayo-Underwood Building, 500 Mero Street, 3rd Floor, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601-4381. You can reach them by telephone at (502) 564-3534 or visit their website at elc.ky.gov. This office is responsible for administering and enforcing the Kentucky Minimum Wage Law, investigating complaints, and providing guidance to both employers and employees. Workers in any part of the state — from the eastern coalfields to the westernPurchase region — can direct wage and hour questions to this office. It is the state agency tasked with ensuring that employers comply with Kentucky's wage and hour laws, including the $7.25 per hour minimum wage and overtime requirements.
Education and Labor Cabinet Division of Wages and Hours Mayo-Underwood Building 500 Mero Street, 3rd Floor Frankfort, Kentucky 40601-4381 Phone (502) 564-3534 elc.ky.gov
Kentucky Wage and Hour Laws (Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet)
When tips, meals or lodging count toward the minimum wage
Kentucky law permits employers to count tips received by employees toward the minimum wage, subject to specific conditions. An employer may pay a tipped employee a cash wage of $2.13 per hour, provided that when tips are added to that cash wage, the employee receives at least the full minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for each workweek. The employer must maintain records that establish, for each week credit is taken, that the employee received not less than the minimum wage. However, Kentucky law prohibits employers from using all or part of an employee's tips toward the payment of the minimum wage unless the above conditions are met. The law also forbids requiring an employee to remit any gratuity to the employer, except for amounts required to be withheld by federal or state law. Regarding meals and lodging, Kentucky's record-keeping rules require employers to document any additions to cash wages at cost, or deductions for meals, board, lodging, or similar items, either at the amount deducted or at the cost of the item. These rules ensure that any credit taken for tips, meals, or lodging does not reduce the employee's pay below the $7.25 per hour minimum.
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 strictly limits what an employer may deduct from an employee's wages. An employer may not withhold any part of the agreed wage rate unless: (a) the deduction is required by local, state, or federal law; (b) the employee has expressly authorized the deduction in writing for insurance premiums or hospital or medical dues; (c) the employee has expressly authorized the deduction in writing for other purposes, provided it does not amount to a rebate or deduction from the standard wage arrived at by collective bargaining or pursuant to a wage agreement or statute; or (d) the deduction is for union dues authorized by a joint wage agreement or collective bargaining contract. In addition, Kentucky law specifically prohibits employers from deducting fines, cash shortages in a common money till used by two or more persons, breakage, losses from dishonored checks (if the employee had discretion to accept or reject the check), or losses due to defective workmanship, lost or stolen property, damage to property, default of customer credit, or nonpayment for goods or services — unless those losses are attributable to the employee's willful or intentional disregard of the employer's interest. Critically, no deduction may reduce an employee's pay below the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour unless it falls within one of the narrow exceptions described above.
No employer shall withhold from any employee's wages any part of the agreed wage rate; unless a) the employer is required to do so by local, state, or federal law; or b) when a deduction is expressly authorized in writing by the employee to cover insurance premiums, hospital, or medical dues; or c) when a deduction is expressly authorized in writing by the employee for other deductions not amounting to a rebate or deduction from the standard wage arrived at by collective bargaining or pursuant to wage agreement or statute; or d) Deductions for union dues where such deductions are authorized by joint wage agreements or collective bargaining contracts negotiated between employers and employees or their representatives.
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