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Kentucky's minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, effective July 24, 2009, under KRS 337.050. — Source

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Kentucky wage calculators

KRS 337.050 requires 1.5× pay on the 7th consecutive day of any workweek an employer permits all 7 days of work (but not if the employee worked 40 or fewer total hours that week), and KRS 337.355/337.365 mandate separate meal and rest periods.

Current verified rates

Rates are read from the shared source registry. Values marked unverified in the registry render nothing.

Kentucky minimum wage

$7.25/hour

Effective 2009-07-24 · source

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Kentucky calculators and guides

Start hereOvertimeKRS 337.285: weekly-40 at 1.5×; KRS 337.050: 7th-day premium at 1.5× when employer permits all 7 days of a workweek AND total hours exceed 40. The 7th-day rule does not apply if the employee works ≤40 total hours that week.

Minimum Wage$7.25/hr (KRS 337.275 adopts federal rate by reference); static since July 24, 2009; no CPI indexing.Meal & Rest BreaksKRS 337.355 (lunch period) and KRS 337.365 (rest periods) both appear in the Kentucky Revised Statutes Chapter 337 index; full text not fetched — verify before building.Final Paycheck DeadlineKRS 337.055: payment of all wages on dismissal or voluntary leaving; full statute text not fetched — deadline not confirmed from primary source.

How Kentucky differs

Weekly overtime: Kentucky requires time-and-a-half after 40 hours in a workweek. Source.

State wage law

Kentucky wage payment and collection law

Beyond the minimum wage and overtime rate, Kentucky has its own wage-payment statute governing when workers must be paid, what happens to a final paycheck, and how to recover wages an employer has not paid. The essentials, drawn from Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet, Division of Wages and Hours, are below.

How often wages must be paid: KRS 337.020: pay at least semimonthly, all wages earned to a day not more than 18 days before payday; unpaid employee must be paid upon 6 days' demand.
Final paycheck after separation: KRS 337.055: on quit/discharge, all wages by the next normal pay period or 14 days after separation, whichever is later.
How to file a wage claim: KRS 337.385(4): on written request the Commissioner may take assignment of the wage claim in trust and sue; employer liable for costs and reasonable attorney fees.
Deadline to claim (statute of limitations): KRS 337.385(5): 3 years after the cause of action accrued (where no other express limit applies).
Other state-specific rules: Seventh-day premium (KRS 337.050): 1.5x for the 7th day worked, with exceptions. Liquidated damages equal amount + costs + fees (KRS 337.385(1)). Mandatory lunch (KRS 337.355) and rest periods (KRS 337.365). State minimum $7.25 (KRS 337.275).

Primary source: Kentucky Education and Labor Cabinet, Division of Wages and Hours. Statute citations are the state's own; verify your specific situation before acting.