{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-18a.115","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 18A.115","heading":"Employment exempted from classified service -- Reversion rights of","body":"career employees promoted outside classified service -- Transfer of employees\nto Kentucky Community and Technical College System -- Change of personnel\nsystem for employees of Dep artment for Technical Education and Department\nfor Adult Education and Literacy -- Change of personnel system for some\nemployees of Eastern Kentucky University.\n(1) The classified service to which KRS 18A.005 to 18A.200 shall apply shall comprise\nall positions in the state service now existing or hereafter established, except the\nfollowing:\n(a) The General Assembly and employees of the General Assembly, including the\nemployees of the Legislative Research Commission;\n(b) Officers elected by p opular vote and persons appointed to fill vacancies in\nelective offices;\n(c) Members of boards and commissions;\n(d) Officers and employees on the staff of the Governor, the Lieutenant\nGovernor, the Office of the Secretary of the Governor's Cabinet, and the\nOffice of Program Administration;\n(e) Cabinet secretaries, commissioners, office heads, and the administrative heads\nof all boards and commissions, including the executive director of Kentucky\nEducational Television;\n(f) Employees of Kentucky Educational Television who have been determined to\nbe exempt from classified service by the Kentucky Authority for Educational\nTelevision, which shall have sole authority over such exempt employees for\nemployment, dismissal, and setting of compensation, up to the maxi mum\nestablished for the executive director and his or her principal assistants;\n(g) One (1) principal assistant or deputy for each person exempted under\nsubsection (1)(e) of this section;\n(h) One (1) additional principal assistant or deputy as may be neces sary for\nmaking and carrying out policy for each person exempted under subsection\n(1)(e) of this section in those instances in which the nature of the functions,\nsize, or complexity of the unit involved are such that the secretary approves\nsuch an addition  on petition of the relevant cabinet secretary or department\nhead and such other principal assistants, deputies, or other major assistants as\nmay be necessary for making and carrying out policy for each person\nexempted under subsection (1)(e) of this secti on in those instances in which\nthe nature of the functions, size, or complexity of the unit involved are such\nthat the board may approve such an addition or additions on petition of the\ndepartment head approved by the secretary. Effective August 1, 2010:\n1. All positions approved under this paragraph prior to August 1, 2010,\nshall be abolished effective December 31, 2010, unless reapproved\nunder subparagraph 2. of this paragraph; and\n2. A position approved under this paragraph on or after August 1, 2010,\nshall be approved for a period of five (5) years, after which time the\nposition shall be abolished unless reapproved under this subparagraph\nfor an additional five (5) year period;\n(i) Division directors subject to the provisions of KRS 18A.170. Division\ndirectors in the classified service as of January 1, 1980, shall remain in the\nclassified service;\n(j) Physicians employed as such;\n(k) One (1) private secretary for each person exempted u nder subsection (1)(e),\n(g), and (h) of this section;\n(l) The judicial department, referees, receivers, jurors, and notaries public;\n(m) Officers and members of the staffs of state universities and colleges and\nstudent employees of such institutions; offic ers and employees of the\nTeachers' Retirement System; and officers, teachers, and employees of local\nboards of education;\n(n) Patients or inmates employed in state institutions;\n(o) Persons employed in a professional or scientific capacity to make or conduct a\ntemporary or special inquiry, investigation, or examination on behalf of the\nGeneral Assembly, or a committee thereof, or by authority of the Governor,\nand persons employed by state agencies for a specified, limited period to\nprovide professional, tec hnical, scientific, or artistic services under the\nprovisions of KRS 45A.690 to 45A.725;\n(p) Interim employees;\n(q) Officers and members of the state militia;\n(r) Department of Kentucky State Police troopers;\n(s) University or college engineering students or other students employed part -\ntime or part-year by the state through special personnel recruitment programs;\nprovided that while so employed such aides shall be under contract to work\nfull-time for the state after graduation for a period of time approved  by the\ncommissioner or shall be participants in a cooperative education program\napproved by the commissioner;\n(t) Superintendents of state mental institutions, including heads of centers for\nindividuals with an intellectual disability, and penal and corre ctional\ninstitutions as referred to in KRS 196.180(2);\n(u) Staff members of the Kentucky Historical Society, if they are hired in\naccordance with KRS 171.311;\n(v) County and Commonwealth's attorneys and their respective appointees;\n(w) Chief district engineers and the state highway engineer;\n(x) Employees of the Kentucky Horse Racing and Gaming Corporation;\n(y) Employees of the Kentucky Peace Corps;\n(z) Employees of the Council on Postsecondary Education;\n(aa) Executive director of the Commonwealth Office of Technology;\n(ab) Employees of Serve Kentucky;\n(ac) Persons employed in certified teaching positions at the Kentucky School for\nthe Blind and the Kentucky School for the Deaf;\n(ad) Federally funded time-limited employees as defined in KRS 18A.005; and\n(ae) Employees of the Department of Agriculture who are employed to support the\nAgricultural Development Board and the Kentucky Agricultural Finance\nCorporation.\n(2) Nothing in KRS 18A.005 to 18A.200 is intended, or shall be construed, to alter or\namend the provisions of KRS 150.022 and 150.061.\n(3) Nothing in KRS 18A.005 to 18A.200 is intended or shall be construed to affect any\nnonmanagement, nonpolicy -making position required to be included in the\nclassified service as a prerequisite to the grant of federal funds to a state agency.\n(4) Career employees within the classified service promoted to positions exempted\nfrom classified service shall, upon termination of their employment in the exempted\nservice, revert to a position in that class in the agency from w hich they were\nterminated if a vacancy in that class exists. If no such vacancy exists, they shall be\nconsidered for employment in any vacant position for which they were qualified\npursuant to KRS 18A.130 and 18A.135, but shall be subject to the limitation s\nspecified in KRS 18A.111(7).\n(5) Nothing in KRS 18A.005 to 18A.200 shall be construed as precluding appointing\nofficers from filling unclassified positions in the manner in which positions in the\nclassified service are filled except as otherwise provided in KRS 18A.005 to\n18A.200.\n(6) The positions of employees who are transferred, effective July 1, 1998, from the\nCabinet for Workforce Development to the Kentucky Community and Technical\nCollege System shall be abolished and the employees' names removed from the\nroster of state employees. E mployees that are transferred, effective July 1, 1998, to\nthe Kentucky Community and Technical College System under KRS Chapter 164\nshall have the same benefits and rights as they had under KRS Chapter 18A and\nhave under KRS 164.5805; however, they shall h ave no guaranteed reemployment\nrights in the KRS Chapter 151B or KRS Chapter 18A personnel systems. An\nemployee who seeks reemployment in a state position under KRS Chapter 151B or\nKRS Chapter 18A shall have years of service in the Kentucky Community and\nTechnical College System counted towards years of experience for calculating\nbenefits and compensation.\n(7) On August 15, 2000, all certified and equivalent personnel, all unclassified\npersonnel, and all certified and equivalent and unclassified vacant posi tions in the\nDepartment for Adult Education and Literacy shall be transferred from the\npersonnel system under KRS Chapter 151B to the personnel system under KRS\nChapter 18A. The positions shall be deleted from the KRS Chapter 151B personnel\nsystem. All rec ords shall be transferred including accumulated annual leave, sick\nleave, compensatory time, and service credit for each affected employee. The\npersonnel officers who administer the personnel systems under KRS Chapter 151B\nand KRS Chapter 18A shall exercis e the necessary administrative procedures to\neffect the change in personnel authority. No certified or equivalent employee in the\nDepartment for Adult Education and Literacy shall suffer any penalty in the\ntransfer.\n(8) On August 15, 2000, secretaries and assistants attached to policymaking positions\nin the Department for Technical Education and the Department for Adult Education\nand Literacy shall be transferred from the personnel system under KRS Chapter\n151B to the personnel system under KRS Chapter 18A.  The positions shall be\ndeleted from the KRS Chapter 151B system. All records shall be transferred\nincluding accumulated annual leave, sick leave, compensatory time, and service\ncredit for each affected employee. No employee shall suffer any penalty in the\ntransfer.\n(9) On May 1, 2017, all contract employees of Eastern Kentucky University who are\nengaged in providing instructional and support services to the Department of\nCriminal Justice Training shall be transferred to the personnel system under KRS\nChapter 18A. All records shall be transferred, including accumulated annual leave,\nsick leave, compensatory time, and service credit for each affected employee. The\npersonnel officers who administer the personnel systems for Eastern Kentucky\nUniversity and under KRS Chapter 18A shall exercise the necessary administrative\nprocedures to effect the change in personnel authority. No employee shall suffer\nany penalty in the transfer.\n(10) On July 1, 2024, all employees of the Louisville and Jefferson County Public\nDefender Corporation shall be transferred to the personnel system under KRS\nChapter 18A. Records of each employee's job classification, compensation, dates of\nemployment, dates of professional licensure, probationary status, accumulated leave\nbalances by category, months of service, and any other information necessary under\nKRS Chapter 18A shall be transferred. The personnel officers who administer the\npersonnel systems for the Louisville and Jefferson County Public Defender\nCorporation and under KRS Chapter 18A shall exercise the necessary\nadministrative procedures to effect the change in the personnel authority. No\nemployee shall suffer any penalty in the transfer.","path":["KRS Chapter 18A"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=58078","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:48:39Z","sha256":"1699426e80fd8e74a67e61eac096fe76094ae8ef3291c87a1b1e6fc47910dad8","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-18a.1132","next":"us-ky/krs-18a.120"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}