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Kentucky Paid Sick Leave Explained: The Seventh Day Matters
Kentucky requires no paid sick leave, so the written policy governs. Two Kentucky rules still shape how leave is administered: a seventh-day overtime premium that sits on top of the ordinary weekly rule, and state continuation coverage running up to 18 months under KRS 304.18-110.
Kentucky has no paid sick leave mandate and no local ordinance, so the accrual, carryover and payout rules are whatever the handbook says they are. That is the short half of this page.
The longer half is a Kentucky wage rule that most national payroll configurations do not carry: a premium for work on the seventh day of a workweek, sitting on top of the ordinary rule for hours above 40. It interacts with paid leave in a way that is easy to get wrong in both directions.
Kentucky at a glance
| Paid sick leave mandate | None statewide for private employers |
|---|---|
| Governing rule | Your written policy, enforced as written |
| State paid family and medical leave | None. Federal FMLA only, unpaid, at 50+ employees |
| Minimum wage | $7.25 |
| Overtime | Weekly over 40, plus a 7th-day overtime rule |
| Jury duty leave, paid? | Unpaid. No state requirement to keep paying during service. [Ky. Rev. Stat. § 29A.160] |
| Jury duty, the part missed | Suit within 90 days of discharge. |
| Jury duty penalty | Lost wages, reinstatement, attorney fee; Class B misdemeanour. |
| Coverage below the 20-employee COBRA line | Kentucky Continuation of Group Coverage, up to 18 months [Ky. Rev. Stat. (KRS) section 304.18-110 (Continuation of group coverage after termination of membership in group, Notice of eligibility); conversion under KRS 304.18-114] |
Seventh-day overtime and paid leave hours
Kentucky is one of a small number of states that attaches a premium to the seventh consecutive day rather than only to the 40th hour. For a business running rolling rotas, that changes how a week is built.
Paid leave hours are generally not hours worked. A day an employee takes as paid time off is therefore not a day worked, and it does not advance the count towards a seventh. A timekeeping system that treats every scheduled day as a worked day will pay a seventh-day premium that is not owed. A system that drops the employee out of the count entirely can equally miss a premium that is.
The correct treatment is a distinct absence code for paid leave that is visible to the overtime calculation, which is a configuration point rather than a handbook sentence.
Eighteen months of continuation coverage
KRS 304.18-110 gives continuation of group coverage after membership in the group ends, running up to 18 months, with a conversion right to an individual policy at KRS 304.18-114. It applies to fully insured group plans and is used mainly by employees of employers below the federal 20-employee COBRA line.
Eighteen months is at the long end of state continuation. For a small Kentucky employer that means a separation creates a notice obligation and a plan administration task that lasts a year and a half, which is a longer tail than a business with no HR function usually expects.
Jury duty: unpaid, 90 days to sue
KRS 29A.160 protects an employee's job during jury service without requiring pay. A dismissed employee has 90 days to bring a claim. Remedies reach lost wages, reinstatement and attorney fees, and the offence is a Class B misdemeanour.
What the policy has to answer
In a state with no accrual statute, three sentences carry the whole leave policy: whether unused sick time is paid out at separation, whether it carries over, and whether it is available during a probationary period. Each will be applied as written, and a silence gets read generously.
Kentucky also sits at the federal $7.25 minimum wage, so there is no state wage floor lifting the value of a voluntary paid hour above what the employer chooses to pay.
Illinois is the nearest complication
Kentucky borders Illinois, which mandates paid leave for any reason at every employer and runs separate, larger ordinances in Chicago and Cook County. The obligation follows the employee's work location.
A Louisville business with one remote employee in Illinois owes the Illinois entitlement in full, including the prohibition on asking what the leave is for, which has no equivalent in Kentucky practice. Building that policy correctly, rather than extending a Kentucky handbook that has no accrual mechanics in it, is what HR outsourcing does.
FMLA, remote-hire exposure and voluntary policy drafting: paid leave fundamentals.
For Kentucky specifically: nothing above is statutory in Kentucky, so your written policy is the enforceable rule, the wage floor those hours are paid at is $7.25, and below the federal 20-employee COBRA threshold Kentucky still requires continuation coverage for up to 18 months. HR outsourcing in Kentucky keeps that in the handbook and in payroll.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does Kentucky require paid sick leave?
No. Kentucky has no statewide requirement for private employers, so whatever your handbook says is the enforceable rule, including on carryover and payout. Hours you do pay are paid at $7.25.
What pay rate applies to leave hours in Kentucky?
Minimum wage in Kentucky is $7.25. Overtime: Weekly over 40, plus a 7th-day overtime rule. Paid leave hours generally do not count toward the overtime threshold because they are not hours worked.
Does health coverage continue after separation in Kentucky?
Federal COBRA applies at 20 or more employees. Below that, Kentucky has its own continuation law, the Kentucky Continuation of Group Coverage, running up to 18 months (Ky. Rev. Stat. (KRS) section 304.18-110 (Continuation of group coverage after termination of membership in group, Notice of eligibility); conversion under KRS 304.18-114).
Do Kentucky employers have to pay for jury duty leave?
Unpaid. No state requirement to keep paying during service. Suit within 90 days of discharge. Getting it wrong costs: Lost wages, reinstatement, attorney fee; Class B misdemeanour (Ky. Rev. Stat. § 29A.160).
Does Kentucky run a paid family and medical leave programme?
No. Federal FMLA is the only family and medical leave floor in Kentucky: 12 workweeks, unpaid, at employers with 50 or more employees.
What is the Kentucky seventh-day overtime rule?
Kentucky requires a premium for work on the seventh day of a workweek in addition to the ordinary rule for hours above 40. Most states have only the weekly rule. It matters to leave administration because paid leave hours are generally not hours worked, so a day taken as paid leave is not a day worked for the purpose of counting to a seventh.
How long does Kentucky continuation coverage run?
Up to 18 months under KRS 304.18-110, which is at the longer end of state continuation laws. It applies to fully insured group plans and is used primarily by employees of small employers below the federal 20-employee COBRA threshold. Conversion to an individual policy sits alongside it at KRS 304.18-114.
Is jury duty paid in Kentucky?
No. KRS 29A.160 protects the job without requiring pay. A dismissed employee has 90 days to bring a claim, longer than Idaho or Utah allow and shorter than North Carolina, and the remedies reach lost wages, reinstatement and attorney fees, with the offence a Class B misdemeanour.
Does any Kentucky city require paid sick leave?
No. There is no municipal paid sick leave ordinance in Louisville, Lexington or anywhere else in Kentucky, so there is no local layer to check. The state answer applies at every Kentucky address.
Is this a PEO?
No. No co-employment and no employer-of-record change: your company stays the employer. HR outsourcing, powered by isolved.
Anthony leads HR outsourcing strategy at Business Executive Group, a national HR outsourcing firm serving employers across every state. BEG HR outsourcing is powered by isolved, with certified HR professionals building and maintaining state-correct leave policy as laws change.
Sources: KRS section 29A.160; KRS section 304.18-110. Compare every state on paid sick leave by state. General leave information, not legal advice.
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