Kansas Labor Laws

In the US, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) manages employees’ time in the workplace, safeguarding their rights and guaranteeing fair pay for their efforts. This Act provides directives for employers, keeping them in check and minimizing any forms of abuse or exploitation.

All employees in Kansas must adhere to time management and labor regulations set by state laws, however, those covered by federal regulations are not subject to Kansas labor laws. A brief overview of minimum wage laws in Kansas is as follows: 

Employers who contravene federal or state time management laws face severe legal ramifications, including fines, back pay, and damages. If workers believe their employer has violated their rights, they can file a wage claim with the State of Kansas Department of Labor for investigation and legal action.

Following the Kansas Act Against Discrimination, employers in Kansas are prohibited from engaging in discriminatory practices against job applicants during the hiring process. Applicants and employees alike are protected from discrimination based on: 

Kansas is a right-to-work state, which means that working employees cannot be coerced to join, leave, or pay membership fees for labor unions as a condition of employment.  

Kansas also recognizes the at-will employment policy, which means an employer or employee can terminate an employment contract at any point for any reason, without any legal consequences. However, employers cannot terminate employees for reasons including discrimination, retaliation, or the like.

In case of employee termination or resignation. the employer is required by law to pay all due wages to the employee on the next typical payday.

Failure to provide the departing employee with their final paycheck will result in the employer having to pay an additional amount equal to 1% of the unpaid wages for each day (excluding Sundays and legal holidays) until the final payment is made, or the unpaid wages are satisfied, whichever comes first.

Some important labor regulations that govern employment in Kansas include:

• Health Insurance Continuation Laws: Employees who lose their job due to voluntary or involuntary reasons in Kansas can rely on the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) for medical coverage. COBRA provides health insurance to employees and dependents for up to 18 to 36 months following a voluntary or involuntary job loss. However, it’s important to note that COBRA only applies to businesses with 20 or more employees.
• Workplace Safety Laws: In Kansas, private employers and workers are governed by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA sets safety and health standards for employers to abide by to ensure that workplaces are safe and free from hazards. Employers are required by OSHA to provide employees with adequate training to prevent workplace injuries. 
• Whistleblower Protection Laws: According to the Kansas Whistleblower Act, state employees are allowed to report any violations of state or federal regulations to legislative persons or entities, and no supervisor or representative of a state agency can prevent them from doing so. The employee who reports such a violation is not required to inform their supervisor or appointing authority beforehand. If the employee experiences disciplinary action, they can appeal to the state civil service board within 90 days after the disciplinary action. If the board finds that the whistleblower act was violated, the violator could face suspension without pay for a maximum of 30 days, or up to 2 years if they repeatedly violate the act.
• Recordkeeping Laws: Employers in Kansas are required to maintain accurate records for up to 3 years for each employee employed in their establishment. These records should include a worker’s basic identification information as well as payroll details like their Hourly pay rate, Total overtime earnings Additions or deductions from the employee’s wages Total wages paid each pay period, and date of payment.

As of January 1st, 2010, all employers in Kansas are obligated to pay their employees at least $7.25 per hour. This is the same wage rate mandated by federal regulations. 

State law does not specify the criteria for categorizing a worker as a tipped employee. Still, employees in Kansas can pay tipped employees a reduced cash wage of $2.13 per hour, with a tip credit of $5.12. 

However, employers must ensure that the tipped employee’s cash wages and earned tips equal the state’s minimum wage i.e. $7.25 per hour. If not, the employer is required to make up the difference.

Under the guidelines of the FLSA, the following occupations are exempt from receiving minimum wage in Kansas: 

• Executive and administrative workers 
• Learned and creative professionals 
• Computer employees 
• Highly compensated employees 
• Outside sales employees 
• Tipped employees
• Seamen
• Agricultural employees (under certain conditions)
• Independent contractors
• Tipped employees
• Student-learners
• Workers in non-profit organizations
• Casual babysitters 
• Workers in small businesses that are not involved in interstate commerce

Wages must be paid at least once a month with a regular payday to all employees in Kansas. Employers are required to inform employees about their paydays in advance.

According to federal laws, non-exempt employees are owed overtime compensation at 1.5 times their regular pay rate for all hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek.

However, under Kansas labor laws, non-exempt employees can only earn overtime pay for all hours worked beyond 46 per week. Overtime wages are calculated at one and a half times the employee’s hourly wage. For a deeper understanding of your overtime rights, read our detailed article on overtime rights in Kansas.

Fluctuating Workweek Overtime in Kansas 

A fluctuating work week (FWW) is an employment schedule where an employee’s work hours vary from week to week. Non-exempt employees working under a fluctuating workweek schedule receive a fixed weekly salary, irrespective of their weekly hours. 

To use the fluctuating workweek method to calculate overtime, an employer and employee must mutually agree upon the weekly compensation rate. Then, overtime pay can be calculated for hours worked beyond 40 in a workweek at 0.5 times the employee’s average hourly rate. 

Employers can calculate overtime under the FWW method by:

• Calculating the employee’s average hourly rate by dividing the employee’s fixed salary (including any additional pay such as commissions, bonuses, or hazard pay) by the number of work hours in a specific week 
• Multiplying the average hourly rate by 0.5 for each hour worked as overtime

As of January 1, 2025, a white-collar worker who earns more than $1,128 per week or $58,656 per year is considered exempt from receiving overtime pay. This generally includes employees working in executive, administrative, or professional occupations as well as certain computer employees and outside salespersons. 

Under the FLSA, the following occupations are also considered exempt from overtime compensation:

• Seamen working on foreign ships
• Fishermen
• Newspaper carriers and employees of small newspaper establishments
• Railroad and air carrier workers
• Casual baby sitters
• Workers employed to take care of the elderly
• Domestic employees who live in the residence of their employers
• Workers processing sugar
• Farm-produce transportation workers
• Employees in recreational and amusement establishments

Learn more in detail about Kansas Salaried Employees Laws and Kansas Overtime Laws.

 Kansas labor law does not outline any meal or rest break policies for employees. However, employers in the state can choose to offer such breaks at their own discretion. If so, they must abide by federal regulations to stay compliant.

Under federal law, employees can be provided with rest breaks lasting from five to 20 minutes. These must be paid. 

On the other hand, meal breaks lasting at least 30 minutes or more can also be scheduled. A meal break is unpaid, as long as the employee is completely relieved of their job duties for the duration of the break. If not, the break must be duly compensated. 

The federal PUMP Act mandates employers to provide reasonably timed breaks to nursing employees to express milk at their workplace. 

Employers are required to arrange a private room, that is not a toilet and is free from intrusion, for this purpose. These breaks must be provided for a year after the child’s birth.

The following are the required leave types that Kansas employers must provide to their employees:

• Family And Medical Leave:  The federal Family and Medical Leave Act allows eligible employees to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave within a 12-month period. This leave may be used to care for a child after birth, adoption, or in foster care, or for the employee’s own or immediate family member’s serious health condition. To qualify for the FMLA, the employee must have been working for the employer for at least a year for 1,250 hours.
• Parental Leave: As of July 6, 2021, state employees in Kansas are entitled to receive paid parental leave after the birth, adoption, or foster placement of a child. To be eligible, a worker must be employed for at least 180 days in an establishment. If they qualify as a primary caregiver, they can take up to eight weeks of paid parental leave. An employee who classifies as a secondary caregiver can take four weeks of parental leave.
• Military Leave:  All public employees, either regular or temporary, are entitled to 30 days of paid military leave during the 12-month period from October 1st to September 30th. This leave can be used for a variety of military purposes such as active or inactive duty, full-time National Guard duty, weekend drills, or any other kind of military duty.
• Domestic Violence or Sexual Assault Leave: Employees who have experienced domestic violence or sexual assault are permitted to take up to eight days of leave to seek medical relief, obtain a restraining order, or attend court hearings. Employees can choose to use their paid accrued leave instead. If their paid leave is exhausted, then they can take unpaid leave. Employers are prohibited from discriminating or retaliating against employees taking time off for such purposes.  
• Donor Leave: Under Kansas’s Donor Leave Program, state employees can take 30 days of paid leave to recover after the donation of an organ or body tissue and seven days of paid leave after then donating bone marrow. Additionally, employees can take one and a half to three hours of paid leave every four months for blood and platelet donations. 
• Jury Duty Leave: Any employee who receives a summons to serve as a juror can take leave to attend jury duty.  If you are a regular employee in Kansas, you are entitled to paid leave when called for jury duty or as a witness before the Civil Service Board. However, if you are called as a witness on your own behalf, paid leave does not apply.
• Holiday Leave: State offices in Kansas must grant their employees time off on legally recognized public holidays. This leave can be for one or multiple days as deemed necessary.
• Bereavement Leave: Employees in Kansas who experience the loss of an immediate family member or close relative are eligible to take up to six days of paid leave. Employees can also take up to eight hours of paid leave to attend the funeral of an immediate coworker. Time taken as leave for bereavement is not counted in overtime calculations. 
• Disaster Service Leave: A state employee who is also a certified disaster service volunteer with the American Red Cross is entitled to up to 20 working days of paid leave in a 12-month period.

 The following are the official federal holidays observed in Kansas for the year 2025:

Any person under the age of 18 is considered a minor in Kansas. However, individuals aged 16 and over are considered emancipated if they are married.

Work Permits for Minors in Kansas

For any employer in Kansas seeking to hire a minor under the age of 16,  a work permit must be obtained prior to employment. However, if the minor is enrolled in a secondary school in the state, the work permit is not needed.  

Under Kansas law, minors aged under 16 can only be scheduled to work between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. They can work a maximum of eight hours daily, with weekly hours not exceeding 40. 

However, most establishments in Kansas are covered by the FLSA, which allows minors aged 14 and 15 to work:

• Three hours daily, with a maximum of 18 hours weekly when school is in session
• Between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
• Till 9 p.m. only between June 1st and Labor Day
• Eight hours daily with a maximum of 40 hours weekly during school break

There are no work-hour regulations for minors aged 16 and 17 following the FLSA. However, minors of this age group are not allowed to work hazardous jobs.

Certain jobs are not allowed for minors in Kansas. According to the Secretary of Labor, any occupation, trade, or business that may pose physical, moral, or emotional risks cannot be done by individuals below 18 years old. 

Additionally, the following is a list of some jobs prohibited for minors by the FLSA:

• Driving
• Working with power-driven woodworking machines
• Meat processing 
• Working with metal forming and punching machines
• Working with power-driven hoisting tools
• Roofing and excavation

Minors aged 14 and 15 are specifically banned from working in: