Labor & Employment

Amend KRS 337.010 to define "job posting" and "wage range"; create a new section of KRS Chapter 337 to require all employers to include the wages or wage range for the advertised position in any job posting; amend KRS 95A.250 and 337.020 to conform.

Amend KRS 337.010 to increase the applicable threshold of employees of retail stores and service industries from $95,000 to $500,000 average annual gross volume of sales for the employer; amend KRS 337.275 to incrementally raise minimum wage for employers to $15.00 an hour; include anti-preemption language permitting local governments to establish minimum wage ordinances in excess of the state minimum wage.

Amend KRS 341.243 to change the employer's contribution rate to the service capacity upgrade fund; of the rate subtracting .075% until December 31, 2026; provide that beginning January 1 2027, the rates shall be adjusted by subtracting 0.0115%; require the secretary of the Education and Labor Cabinet to set the adjustment percentage annually to be effective January 1 of each subsequent year, not to exceed 1.025%.

Amend KRS 344.010 to define terms; amend KRS 344.020, relating to the purpose of the Kentucky's civil rights chapter, to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity; amend KRS 344.025, 344.040, 344.050, 344.060, 344.070, and 344.080, relating to prohibited discrimination in various labor and employment practices, to include discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity; amend KRS 344.100 and 344.110 to conform; amend KRS 344.120 and 344.140, relating to prohibited discrimination in places of public accommodation, to include discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity; amend KRS 344.170, 344.180, 344.190, 344.300, and 344.310, relating to the state and local human rights commissions, to include prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in the scope of their powers and duties; amend KRS 344.360, 344.370, 344.380, and 344.680, relating to prohibited discrimination in certain housing, real estate, and other financial transactions, to include discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity; amend KRS 344.367, relating to prohibited discrimination in certain insurance sales, to include discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity; amend KRS 344.400, relating to prohibited discrimination in certain credit transactions, to include discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity; make various technical amendments; amend KRS 18A.095 to conform.

HB 251 expands eligibility for hazardous duty retirement coverage in Kentucky's state retirement system to include forensic lab and crime scene personnel from the Kentucky State Police. The bill amends KRS 61.592 to specifically define these roles as "hazardous positions" due to their routine exposure to chemicals, narcotics, and biohazardous materials at crime scenes or in labs. This change means these employees will now qualify for the same retirement benefits (including 8% employee contributions and employer matching) as other hazardous duty workers like police officers and firefighters. The bill directly affects Kentucky State Police forensic technicians and crime scene investigators by adding them to the list of positions eligible for this specialized retirement coverage.

Amend KRS 65.016 and 337.275 to allow a local government to adopt and enforce an ordinance that requires a minimum wage at a rate higher than that found in KRS 337.275 for employers located within that government's jurisdiction.

Amend KRS 337.275 to raise the minimum wage for employers to $9.50 an hour beginning on the effective date of this Act and incrementally thereafter to $15 an hour beginning on July 1, 2030; raise the state minimum wage for tipped employees to $5 an hour beginning on the effective date of this Act.

Create a new section of KRS Chapter 61 to define "full-time position" and "qualifying employee"; permit a qualifying employee paid leave of absence of up to 30 days for the birth of a child; require leave of more than 1 child during a singular pregnancy to be taken concurrently; require the employee to use the leave within 1 year of the child's birth; require the employee to use the leave as a continuous 30-day block or as a 20-day block with the remainder to be used intermittently as full days; require the employee to request advance approval before using the leave; require the employee to use the paid leave before other types of accrued leave; require compliance with the Family and Medical Leave Act; specify that any other type of leave not specified does not qualify for paid maternity leave; prohibit an employee from converting the unused balance of paid maternity leave to other types of paid leave, benefits, or compensation; require any administrative regulation in conflict with this Act to be amended, withdrawn, or repealed within 90 days of the effective date of the Act.

Amend KRS 141.019, relating to income tax, to define "professional membership dues" and "union dues"; allow a deduction from gross income for union dues and professional membership dues paid for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2027, but before January 1, 2031, and require the Department of Revenue to annually report information about this deduction to the Legislative Research Commission; amend KRS 131.190 to allow the department to report on the exclusion.

This bill defines "unauthorized alien" as a person unlawfully present in the U.S. under federal immigration law. It makes it a Class A misdemeanor for such individuals to knowingly seek or perform work for pay in Kentucky. The law would directly affect non-citizens working without authorization in the state, criminalizing their employment activity while using plain language to describe the prohibition.