Wage-and-hour ground rules for hotel and hospitality employers in Kentucky — minimum wage, tipped-employee rules, overtime, breaks, premium pay, and the hotel-specific obligations that apply on top. Figures below were last reviewed on June 12, 2026; most rates adjust annually.
Verified as of June 12, 2026 — every figure on this page was checked against the official sources listed at the bottom on that date. How we verify →
Minimum wage#
The Kentucky minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, effective July 1, 2009. KRS 337.275 tracks the federal minimum wage; $7.25 since July 2009 with no scheduled increases.
Preemption Kentucky preempts local minimum wage ordinances — cities and counties cannot set their own general wage floors.
Tipped employees & tip pooling#
Kentucky allows a tip credit: employers may pay tipped employees a cash wage of $2.13 and claim up to $5.12 per hour in tips toward the minimum wage. Tipped employee = one engaged in an occupation in which they customarily and regularly receive more than $30 per month in tips. Cash wage plus tips must equal at least $7.25. KRS 337.275(2) mirrors the federal $2.13 cash wage / $5.12 maximum tip credit.
Tip pooling#
KRS 337.275(2) protects employee tips: an employer may not require tipped employees to remit tips for redistribution, but employees may voluntarily agree to pool tips among themselves; federal manager/supervisor tip-keeping ban also applies. (KRS 337.275(2))
See the federal baseline rules in our tip credit and tip pooling briefs — the stricter of federal or Kentucky law controls.
Overtime#
Overtime is due after 40 hours in a workweek. 40-hour weekly standard (KRS 337.285). Distinctive seventh-day rule: an employee who works seven days in any one workweek must receive time-and-a-half for hours worked on the seventh day (KRS 337.050), with exceptions — a real exposure for hotels running continuous schedules.
Run the math — including the tipped-overtime trap — with the tipped overtime calculator.
Meal & rest breaks#
Meal breaks: Reasonable unpaid meal period required, scheduled as close to the middle of the shift as possible and no sooner than the third nor later than the fifth hour of work (waivable by mutual agreement). (KRS 337.355)
Rest breaks: Paid rest period of at least 10 minutes during each 4 hours worked, in addition to the meal period. (KRS 337.365)
Premium for missed breaks: No statutory premium; missed paid rest breaks are recoverable as unpaid wages.
Scheduling & premium pay#
- Reporting-time pay: None required by state law.
- Split-shift premium: None.
- Spread of hours: None.
Service charges & gratuities#
Kentucky has no service-charge-specific statute — the federal tip/service-charge line (and IRS treatment) controls. Background: service charges, auto-gratuities & resort fees.
Pay administration#
- Pay frequency: At least semimonthly; wages due within 18 days of the end of the pay period (KRS 337.020).
- Wage statements: Employers must furnish a statement of deductions each pay period (KRS 337.070). (KRS 337.070)
- Exempt salary floor: $684.00/week (federal) — Federal $684/week applies; Kentucky has no higher state salary floor.
- Lodging credit: Reasonable cost of board, lodging, and other facilities customarily furnished may be counted toward minimum wage, consistent with FLSA standards.
Local minimum wages are preempted: the Kentucky Supreme Court struck down Louisville's local minimum wage in Kentucky Restaurant Ass'n v. Louisville/Jefferson County (Ky. 2016), and the General Assembly codified preemption. Kentucky is one of the few $7.25 states with mandatory paid rest breaks and a meal-period statute — break compliance, not wage rates, is the main state-law risk for hotels.
Official sources#
- Kentucky Education & Labor Cabinet — Wages and Hours
- Paycor minimum wage by state tracker (2026) (accessed 2026-06-12)
- Labor Law Center 2026 state minimum wage rates (accessed 2026-06-12)