Labor & Employment in Kansas

died · Kansas · House Apr 10, 2026

HB 2151: Increasing the Kansas minimum wage to $15 an hour.

HB 2151 would raise Kansas' state minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 per hour for most hourly workers. The bill amends Kansas law (K.S.A. 44-1203) to establish this new rate and repeals the current minimum wage provisions. It directly affects most employees in Kansas, excluding specific categories like agricultural workers, domestic workers, and certain executive or administrative staff as defined in the law. Employers covered by federal minimum wage law would still follow the federal $7.25 rate, but all other Kansas employers would be required to pay at least $15 per hour.

Topics ✓ Labor & Employment

Sub-Topics Labor Standards Minimum Wage

died · Kansas · House Apr 10, 2026

HB 2239: Requiring every employer to provide each employee with meal periods and rest periods.

HB 2239 requires most Kansas employers to provide employees with a 30-minute uninterrupted meal period during work shifts of 6 to 8 hours, and additional periods for longer shifts (e.g., two periods for shifts over 14 hours). It prohibits combining meal and rest periods, allows employees to waive meal periods only with written consent they can revoke, and bans employer coercion in such waivers. Employers may seek exemptions for "undue hardship" (defined as significant difficulty or expense relative to business size/resources), but cannot exempt workers under 16. Violations carry fines up to $2,000 per incident. The law directly affects all Kansas employers with hourly or salaried workers.

Topics ✓ Labor & Employment

Sub-Topics Labor Standards Minimum Wage

died · Kansas · Senate Apr 10, 2026

SB 189: Providing injured employees the freedom of choice to designate their healthcare provider and requiring the employer to pay for the services of such healthcare provider with regard to workers compensation.

SB 189 allows injured workers in Kansas to choose their own healthcare provider for workers' compensation treatment, requiring employers to cover the costs of that provider's services. The bill amends state law to establish this choice as standard practice, while maintaining a $800 cap on employer coverage for initial visits without prior approval. This applies to all workers covered under Kansas workers' compensation, giving employees greater control over their medical care decisions.

Topics ✓ Healthcare ✓ Labor & Employment

Sub-Topics Workers' Compensation

died · Kansas · House Apr 10, 2026

HB 2264: Restoring local government control over wages, compensation and benefits for construction projects.

HB 2264 restores authority to Kansas cities and counties to set their own wage, compensation, and benefits requirements for construction projects by repealing state laws that previously invalidated local ordinances conflicting with state standards. The bill removes provisions (K.S.A. 12-16,132 and 19-26,114) that declared local wage rules void if they conflicted with state statutes (12-16,130/131), allowing local governments to establish their own requirements without state override. This directly affects construction workers, contractors, and local governments participating in public construction projects across Kansas. The policy change enables communities to tailor labor standards to local economic conditions without state-level interference.

Topics ✓ Labor & Employment

Sub-Topics Labor Standards

died · Kansas · Senate Apr 10, 2026

SB 257: Expanding medical assistance eligibility and enacting the healthcare access for working Kansans (HAWK) act.

SB 257, the Healthcare Access for Working Kansans (HAWK) Act, would expand Kansas' medical assistance program to cover non-pregnant adults under 65 with incomes at or below 138% of the federal poverty level, effective January 1, 2026. Applicants must provide employment verification (e.g., pay stubs or W-2 forms), with exemptions for students, parents, individuals with disabilities, veterans, and those experiencing homelessness. The bill requires the state to administer benefits through a managed care system and includes a provision to phase out coverage over 12 months if federal Medicaid funding falls below 90%.

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes ✓ Healthcare ✓ Labor & Employment ✓ Veterans

Sub-Topics Medicaid

died · Kansas · Senate Apr 10, 2026

SB 297: Providing for local government control over wages, compensation and benefits for construction projects.

SB 297 limits local government authority to set wage standards for construction projects. It amends Kansas statutes to declare city ordinances or county resolutions that conflict with state wage laws (K.S.A. 12-16,130 and 12-16,131) void, effectively preventing cities or counties from establishing higher wage requirements than state law. The bill repeals existing sections (12-16,131, 12-16,132, and 19-26,114) that previously allowed local control over these standards. This directly affects local governments seeking to implement higher wages for construction workers on public projects and contractors working under such local ordinances. The bill establishes that state-level wage rules override local regulations for construction projects.

Topics ✗ Labor & Employment

Sub-Topics Labor Standards

died · Kansas · Senate Apr 10, 2026

SB 163: Prohibiting school employment contracts from excluding documentation of disciplinary actions or behavioral corrective actions taken with regard to an employee.

SB 163 prohibits school districts from including clauses in employment contracts that exclude documentation of disciplinary or behavioral corrective actions taken against professional employees. The bill directly affects school districts and their professional employees (such as teachers and certified staff), requiring contracts to explicitly include such records. It amends Kansas law (K.S.A. 72-2218) to ensure these records cannot be omitted from employment agreements, promoting transparency in personnel documentation. The policy change applies specifically to professional employees, not administrative staff covered under separate definitions.

Topics ✓ Education ✓ Labor & Employment

Sub-Topics Teachers

died · Kansas · House Apr 10, 2026

HB 2310: Enacting the career advancement, resources, employment and supports for the disability workforce act, providing for career education programs for students and career enhancement programs for professionals, requiring performance-based contracting for disability services providers, facilitating choice in services by individuals with disabilities, mandating rate parity across all state waiver programs, providing for an online data portal system for waitlist management and services-related communications, requiring the secretary of labor to publish information regarding the disability service provider workforce and providing that direct support workers may be covered by the state health plan.

HB 2310, the "Kansas CARES Act," creates career pathways for direct support workers serving individuals with developmental or intellectual disabilities. It requires new career education programs for students and professional development for current workers, mandates performance-based contracts for disability service providers, and ensures equal payment rates across all state disability waiver programs. The bill also establishes an online portal to manage waitlists and service communications, and requires the state to publish workforce data while expanding health coverage for direct support workers. These changes directly affect individuals with disabilities (by improving service choice), direct support workers (through career and health benefits), and disability service providers (through new contracting rules).

Topics ✓ Healthcare ✓ Labor & Employment

Sub-Topics Insurance

died · Kansas · House Apr 10, 2026

HB 2327: Establishing procedures and requirements for the secretary of corrections to issue a certificate of employability to certain inmates.

HB 2327 requires Kansas' secretary of corrections to issue a "certificate of employability" to certain inmates upon release if they earned a high school diploma or equivalent, had no major disciplinary issues in the year before release, and passed a job skills assessment. This certificate directly affects qualifying inmates by providing documented proof of their education and skills to potential employers. The bill also allows the certificate to be used as evidence in negligent hiring lawsuits, where employers relying on it may defend against claims of poor hiring practices. The secretary must revoke the certificate if an inmate is convicted of a felony after release, and must report annual issuance numbers and recidivism rates to state leaders.

Topics ✓ Criminal Justice ✓ Labor & Employment

Sub-Topics Corrections

died · Kansas · House Apr 10, 2026

HB 2123: Increasing the minimum wage for employees that receive tips and gratuities.

HB 2123 increases Kansas' minimum wage for tipped employees from $2.13 to $6.15 per hour. It requires employers to pay this base rate, and if the employee's tips plus this base rate total less than $7.25 per hour (the standard minimum wage), the employer must cover the difference. This directly affects restaurant workers, servers, and other service employees in Kansas who rely on tips as part of their income. The bill amends Kansas law to ensure tipped workers earn at least the full minimum wage when combining tips with their base pay. It does not apply to workers covered by federal minimum wage rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Topics ✓ Labor & Employment

Sub-Topics Labor Standards Minimum Wage

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