What a week pays in Kentucky
Take seven straight days, 42 hours in all with 8 on the seventh day, at $20 an hour. Under Kentucky rules that is 34 regular hours and 8 hours of overtime, for $920.00.
Federal rules alone would pay $860.00, with 2 hours of overtime. The state rule adds $60.00 to the week.
Who the rule covers
State weekly overtime (KRS 337.285) does not cover retail store employees engaged in selling or distributing goods, or restaurant, hotel and motel employees; the FLSA still applies to them if they are covered.
- The seventh-day rule does not apply to employees who are not permitted to work more than 40 hours in the week. The calculator therefore applies it only in weeks over 40 hours.
- Several groups are excluded from the seventh-day rule, including employees under the Railway Labor Act, seamen and supervisors whose main duty is directing others.
How federal law fits in
The FLSA applies in every state: a covered, non-exempt employee earns at least 1.5 times the regular rate for each hour over 40 in a workweek. Where a state rule and the federal rule both apply, the employee gets whichever pays more for each hour, never both. At $20.00 an hour, federal overtime is $30.00 an hour.
Overtime that only Kentucky law requires does not count toward the federal deduction for qualified overtime; only the premium on hours over 40 in a week does. The no tax on overtime calculator works out that deduction.
Questions people ask
What is the overtime law in Kentucky?
Kentucky requires 1.5 times the regular rate for hours over 40 in a workweek. It also requires 1.5 times the regular rate for time worked on the seventh day when an employee works all seven days of a workweek, with exceptions.
Does Kentucky have daily overtime?
No daily rule, but a seventh-day rule. All hours on the seventh day at 1.5× when all seven days are worked, in weeks over 40 hours.
Is double time required in Kentucky?
No. Kentucky law does not require double time. It is paid only when an employer policy or a union contract provides for it.
Can a Kentucky employer average hours over two weeks?
Not for federal overtime. Each workweek stands alone under the FLSA, so 30 hours one week and 50 the next means 10 hours of overtime in the second week, even when both are paid together.