The rule in Kentucky
In Kentucky, hours over 40 in a workweek are paid at 1.5 times your regular rate. There is no general daily limit, so a 12-hour day inside a 36-hour week earns no overtime.
The US Department of Labor's state table adds: “Separate 7th-day law: employers who permit work on all seven days of a workweek must pay 1.5x for hours on the seventh day. Does not apply when the employee is not permitted to work over 40 hours total that week.”
The seventh-day rule
Separate 7th-day law: employers who permit work on all seven days of a workweek must pay 1.5x for hours on the seventh day. Does not apply when the employee is not permitted to work over 40 hours total that week.
What counts toward your regular rate
Overtime is 1.5 times your regular rate of pay: everything you earned for the week at straight time, divided by every hour you worked.
Counts
- Your hourly pay for every hour worked, at each rate you worked
- Non-discretionary bonuses — attendance, production, safety, or any bonus promised in advance
- Commissions
- Shift differentials for nights, weekends or hazardous work
Does not count
- Discretionary bonuses and gifts, where both the fact and the amount were up to the employer
- Expense reimbursements
- Pay for time not worked: vacation, holidays, sick days
A worked example
Common mistakes employers make in Kentucky
- Skipping the seventh-day premium when an employee works all seven days of a workweek and more than 40 hours in total.
Kentucky overtime: common questions
Does my employer have to pay overtime if they didn't approve it?
Yes. Time your employer knew you were working, or allowed you to work, counts as hours worked, whether or not anyone approved it in advance. An employer can discipline you for breaking an overtime policy, but it still has to pay overtime for those hours — in Kentucky as everywhere else under federal law.
Does my bonus change my overtime rate?
Yes, if the bonus is non-discretionary — promised for attendance, production, safety or hitting a target. It is added to your straight-time pay and divided by all the hours you worked, and your overtime is 1.5 times that higher rate. Discretionary gifts, expense reimbursements and paid time off are left out.
When does Kentucky's seventh-day rule apply?
When your employer lets you work all seven days of a workweek and your total for that week is over 40 hours. The hours on the seventh day are then paid at time and a half. If you are not allowed to work more than 40 hours that week, the seventh-day premium does not apply.
What is a workweek, and can my employer change it?
A workweek is a fixed, recurring block of seven consecutive 24-hour days, and it can start on any day and at any hour. Overtime is counted per workweek, never averaged across two, even when you are paid every two weeks. Your employer can change the start day, but only permanently and not to avoid paying overtime.
If you think you were underpaid
- Keep your own record of the hours you worked: a timesheet from this page, photos of the posted schedule, messages about shifts.
- Ask your employer in writing to correct the pay. Email beats a conversation because it creates a dated record.
- File a wage claim — with the Kentucky labor department, or with the US Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division for federal overtime. It is free, and you do not need a lawyer.
- Federal overtime claims must generally be brought within 2 years of the underpayment, or 3 years if the violation was willful.
Spotted something wrong? Report an error.
Other states that also add their own exception to the 40-hour rule: Minnesota, New York and North Carolina.
Work across a state line? Illinois overtime rules and Ohio overtime rules.