Kentucky minimum wage and tip laws (2026)

Kentucky does not set its own minimum wage above the federal rate, so the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour applies.

Minimum wage

$7.25

For a 40-hour week

$290.00

Source: 29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1) Read the rule

Employers in Kentucky can pay tipped workers a cash wage as low as $2.13 an hour and count up to $5.12 an hour of tips toward the $7.25 minimum. That is called a tip credit. Your cash wage plus the tips you keep must reach at least $7.25 for every hour in each workweek. If they do not, your employer has to make up the difference.

Tips can count toward the wage

Yes

Tipped cash wage

$2.13

Maximum tip credit

$5.12

Employer must tell you first

Yes

Source: 29 U.S.C. 203(m)(2)(A); 29 CFR 531.59 Read the rule

• Hours past 40 in a workweek are paid at 1.5 times your regular rate.
• Working all seven days of a workweek triggers extra overtime on the seventh day.

Overtime rate at minimum wage

$10.875

Overtime cash rate with a tip credit

$5.755

For tipped workers, overtime is figured on the full minimum wage, not the cash wage. At $7.25, that is $10.875 an hour, so with the full tip credit the overtime cash rate cannot be less than $5.755.

Source: KRS 337.050 (time and a half for all hours worked on the seventh day of a workweek in which the employee works seven days; does not apply if the employee is not permitted to work more than 40 hours that week); KRS 337.285 (1.5x over 40 hours) Read the rule

Meal break

Required, but the law does not set a length

Rest break

10 paid minutes for every 4 hours

Extra pay for a missed break

No

Kentucky requires these breaks but does not set a fixed premium, like an extra hour of pay, when one is missed. If you work through a meal break, that time has to be paid.

Source: KRS 337.355 (reasonable lunch period, not sooner than the 3rd nor later than the 5th hour of the shift, unless otherwise agreed); KRS 337.365 (paid rest period of at least 10 minutes during each 4 hours worked, in addition to lunch) Read the rule

Taxes and deductions you agreed to, like health insurance, are normal. These are the ones that cause trouble in restaurants and bars, and what Kentucky allows:

Required uniforms

Only if pay stays above minimum

Register or cash shortages

Not allowed

Broken dishes or equipment

Not allowed

Card processing fee on card tips

Only if pay stays above minimum

Customers who walk out

Not allowed

"Only if pay stays above minimum" means the deduction cannot take your pay for the week below minimum wage. For a worker paid a tipped cash wage, that usually leaves no room for a uniform, shortage, breakage or walkout deduction. A card fee works differently: only the fee on the card tip itself, taken from that tip.

Source: KRS 337.060(2) (no deduction for fines, cash shortages in a drawer or register used by two or more persons, breakage, dishonored checks the employee had discretion to accept, or losses from customer credit default or nonpayment unless the employee willfully or intentionally disregarded the employer's interest); KRS 337.060(1) (any other deduction needs the employee's written authorization) Read the rule

Managers and owners can share in the pool

No

Kitchen staff can share when a tip credit is taken

No

Kitchen staff can share when no tip credit is taken

Yes

In most states, an employer can require tipped staff to pool tips with others who serve customers, like bussers, runners and bartenders. Managers, supervisors and owners can never take a share. Under federal law, cooks and dishwashers can share only when the employer takes no tip credit, and some states do not allow it at all. The answers above show the rule in Kentucky.

Source: KRS 337.065(4) (a tip pool may include tipped employees and may not include salaried employees, managers or supervisors), as amended eff. April 10, 2026; KRS 337.065(1) (employer may not require an employee to remit any part of a gratuity) Read the rule

Under federal law, a mandatory service charge, like an automatic 20% on large parties, is not a tip. It belongs to the business unless it is paid out, and when it is paid to you it counts as wages. It cannot be used to cover the tip credit, and it should not be reported as tips on your stub. Some states give the charge to the staff when customers were not clearly told it is not a tip, so if a charge was presented as a gratuity, it is worth asking where it went.

Source: 29 CFR 531.55 (a compulsory service charge is not a tip) Read the rule

Kentucky does not require paid sick leave statewide. Some employers offer it anyway, and in a few places a city or county law requires it.

Source: No federal paid sick leave requirement for private employers.

Some parts of Kentucky law depend on things a pay stub does not show. A TruWage result for Kentucky can be off if any of these apply to you:

• If you worked all seven days of a workweek, Kentucky owes time and a half for every hour on the seventh day, unless your employer did not let you go over 40 hours that week. This check does not calculate that.
• If you authorized a cash shortage, breakage or walkout deduction in writing, or your employer can show you willfully disregarded its interests, it may be lawful. This check flags all of them.
• If money was taken from your pay for a uniform without your written authorization, it is unlawful in Kentucky even if it left you above minimum wage, which is all this check tests.

Start with your manager or payroll and show them the numbers. Many mistakes get fixed that way. If it is not fixed, you can file a wage claim. It is free and you do not need a lawyer.

Agency

Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet, Division of Wages and Hours

Phone

(502) 564-3534

The Division of Wages and Hours enforces KRS Chapter 337: minimum wage, overtime, seventh-day pay, breaks, unlawful deductions and tips. Complaints are filed online (link on the Wages and Hours page) or by email to wages@ky.gov.

How to file a wage claim

You can also file with the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, which enforces federal wage law, at 1-866-487-9243. They take complaints in many languages and keep the name of the person complaining confidential.