Labor & Employment

Create a new section of KRS 78.510 to 78.852 to allow employers participating in the County Employees Retirement System (CERS) to make a one-time election to offer members who work in hazardous positions who are hired on or after January 1, 2014, but prior to July 1, 2027, so that, in lieu of continued participation in the hybrid cash balance plan (Tier III benefits), these members receive the benefits provided to members in a hazardous position who began participating immediately prior to January 1, 2014 (Tier II benefits); allow for employers in CERS to make a one-time election to opt in to the benefit change by July 1, 2027; allow members who are employed by an employer that makes a one-time election to make a one-time election to opt into the benefit change within 30 days of the employer election and allow a member to pay the costs to convert any other Tier III benefit service in a hazardous position to Tier II benefit service; provide that all new hires after July 1, 2027, in hazardous positions for any employer that makes a one-time election receive Tier II benefits; require that accumulated contributions in the hybrid cash balance plan remain in the member's account; provide that any member eligible to make a one-time irrevocable election to change their benefits shall not have the option to change or make a new election under any circumstances relating to a change in employment or reemployment with a participating employer; amend KRS 61.5955 to exempt members who are participating in Tier II benefits based upon an election of an employer pursuant to this Act; amend KRS 61.680 to allow members who have Tier II and Tier III service to consolidate that service for the purpose of determining eligibility and amount of benefits; amend KRS 78.510 to add December 31, 2013, to the definition of "membership date" for members whose benefit tier changes pursuant to this Act; amend KRS 78.5520 to allow members to pay the cost of converting any other Tier III service in a hazardous position to Tier II service and allow employers to pay the cost of converting any Tier III service that could be converted to Tier II service on behalf of the employee; amend KRS 78.635 to require employers who make a one-time irrevocable election to pay an additional actuarially accrued liability contribution that is sufficient to fund the conversion of benefits; amend KRS 78.640 to allow a member's accumulated employer credit attributable to service converted to Tier II benefits to be transferred to the retirement allowance account; EFFECTIVE July 1, 2027.

Create new sections of KRS Chapter 337 to define terms and make the termination of employment without cause unlawful; establish amount that may be recovered for wrongful discharge; specify when the employers' internal procedures are to be used.

Establish the Health Care Workforce Task Force to identify strategies to increase the number of health care providers while maintaining high quality standards of care; establish task force membership; require the task force to submit a report with recommendations to the Legislative Research Commission for referral to the Interim Joint Committees on Health Services and Education by December 1, 2026.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 336 to prohibit all employers of 75 or more employees from demoting, dismissing, disciplining, or discriminating against an employee who misses work because of duties related to being a candidate, member-elect, or member of the General Assembly or legislative body of certain local governments; require an employer to grant a leave of absence if the employee requests it, not to exceed 4 terms for a member of the House of Representatives, or 3 terms for a member of the Senate or a member of a specified legislative body of a local government; amend KRS 336.990 to provide a penalty for employers who violate Section 1 of the Act.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 158 to make legislative findings, provide a teacher bill of rights, and require each local school board to provide a copy of the teacher bill of rights to all teachers and post the teacher bill of rights in all public school buildings containing instructional space for students.

This resolution honors the Kentucky State Building and Construction Trades Council for its nearly 100 years of work supporting construction workers and the industry in Kentucky. It officially recognizes March 5, 2026, as Trades Day at the Capitol to acknowledge the council's contributions to workforce development, fair wages, and job training programs. The bill does not change laws or policies but serves as a formal recognition of the organization's role in advancing worker rights and industry standards.

This bill amends Kentucky's vocational rehabilitation laws to use gender-neutral language when describing eligibility for services. It directly affects individuals with physical or mental disabilities who apply for vocational rehabilitation support in the state. The key provision ensures that the law refers to applicants using "his or her" instead of gender-specific terms, making the eligibility criteria apply equally to all people regardless of gender. The bill does not change the actual requirements for receiving services, which remain limited to those who live in Kentucky or qualify through interstate or federal agreements.

Amend KRS 96A.096 to include voluntary contributions by a Kentucky employer up to 0.05% of the Kentucky employer's total payroll in the Kentucky public transportation development fund; require the fund to be administered by the Transportation Cabinet; require the moneys received from the voluntary contributions to be used for providing public transit for workforce mobility needs; specify how the moneys in the fund for public transit are distributed; require annual reporting to the Transportation Cabinet from each public transit system that receives money from the fund; require annual reporting from the Transportation Cabinet to the Legislative Research Commission; create a new section of KRS Chapter 141 to define "public transportation contribution," "Kentucky public transportation development fund," and "transit authority"; establish the public transportation contribution credit for taxes imposed in KRS 141.020 or 141.040 and 141.0401 for public transportation contributions provided by a Kentucky employer; limit the credit to 50% of the total amount of the public transportation contribution made for the taxable year by the employer; require annual reporting by the Department of Revenue on the credits claimed; amend KRS 141.0205 to order the credits; amend KRS 131.190 to allow the Department of Revenue to report on the credit; appropriate $30 million in general fund moneys in each fiscal year of the 2026-2028 biennium to the Kentucky public transportation development fund; APPROPRIATION; EMERGENCY.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 342 to establish the Department of Workers' Claims to be administratively attached to the Office of the Governor; amend KRS 342.122 to provide that the combined budgets of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, Workers' Compensation Nominating Committee, Department of Workplace Standards, and the proportional support for general administration and approved indirect cost allocation to the Education and Labor Cabinet, shall not exceed 75% of the total combined budget submitted by the Workers’ Compensation Funding Commission and that the Workers’ Compensation Funding Commission, the Department of Workers’ Claims, the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, the Workers’ Compensation Nominating Committee, the Department of Workplace Standards, excluding the Division of Wages and Hours contained within the Department of Workplace Standards, and the Education and Labor Cabinet, shall each submit a budget which shall be combined by the Workers’ Compensation Funding Commission and reflected in the enacted budget of the Commonwealth; amend KRS 342.228 to require the commissioner of the Department of Workers' Claims to have specified knowledge and experience in the areas of public administration, administrative law, and workers' compensation by having a minimum of 8 years of legal practice experience in the area of workers' compensation; amend KRS 342.230 to authorize the commissioner to fill all positions in the Department for Workers' Claims with KRS Chapter 18A employees; amend KRS 151B.015 to remove the Department of Workers' Claims from the Education and Labor Cabinet; amend various other sections to conform; provide that all records, equipment, staff, budgets, and unexpended funds associated with the Department of Workers' Claims shall be transferred as part of the reorganization; provide that all administrative regulations, decisions, and actions of the department that have not been repealed or rescinded shall continue in effect after the effective date of the Act, unless and until they are amended, repealed, or rescinded by the department after the effective date of this Act; EMERGENCY.

This bill amends Kentucky law to ensure gender-neutral language in provisions about final wage payments to employees. It directly affects employers and employees by clarifying that all earned wages must be paid in full within the next normal pay period or within 14 days of an employee leaving or being discharged. The amendment updates the existing statute to use inclusive language while maintaining the same payment requirements and deadlines for final compensation. The bill does not change the timing or conditions for wage payment, only the wording to apply equally to all genders.