{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-336.700","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 336.700","heading":"Prohibition against requiring waiver of statutory rights as a condition of","body":"employment -- Exceptions -- Arbitration agreements.\n(1) As used in this section, \"employer\" means any person, either individual,\ncorporation, partnership, agency, or fir m, that employs an employee and includes\nany person, either individual, corporation, partnership, agency, or firm, acting\ndirectly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an employee; and\n\"employee\" means any person employed by or suffe red or permitted to work for an\nemployer.\n(2) Notwithstanding any provision of the Kentucky Revised Statutes to the contrary and\nexcept as provided in subsection (3) of this section, no employer shall require as a\ncondition or precondition of employment th at any employee or person seeking\nemployment waive or otherwise diminish any existing or future claim, right, or\nbenefit to which the employee or person seeking employment would otherwise be\nentitled under any provision of the Kentucky Revised Statutes or any federal law.\n(3) Notwithstanding subsection (2) of this section:\n(a) Any employer may require an employee or person seeking employment to\nexecute an agreement for arbitration, mediation, or other form of alternative\ndispute resolution as a condition or precondition of employment;\n(b) Any employer may require a former employee to execute an agreement to\nwaive an existing claim as a condition or precondition for the rehiring of the\nformer employee as part of a settlement of pending litigation or other leg al or\nadministrative proceeding;\n(c) Any employer may require an employee or person seeking employment to\nexecute an agreement to reasonably reduce the period of limitations for filing\na claim against the employer as a condition or precondition of employme nt,\nprovided that the agreement does not apply to causes of action that arise under\na state or federal law where an agreement to modify the limitations period is\npreempted or prohibited, and provided that such an agreement does not reduce\nthe period of lim itations by more than fifty percent (50%) of the time that is\nprovided under the law that is applicable to the claim; and\n(d) Any employer may require, as a condition or precondition of employment, an\nemployee or person seeking employment to agree for the employer to obtain a\nbackground check or similar type of personal report on the employee or\nperson seeking employment in conformance with a state or federal law that\nrequires the consent of the individual prior to an employer's receipt or use of\nsuch a report.\n(4) An arbitration agreement executed by an employer and an employee or a candidate\nfor employment under subsection (3)(a) of this section shall be subject to general\ncontract defenses as may be applicable in a particular controversy, including fraud,\nduress, and unconscionability.\n(5) In accordance with the Federal Arbitration Act, arbitration under subsection (3)(a)\nof this section shall safeguard the effective vindication of legal rights, including:\n(a) Providing a reasonable location for the arbitration;\n(b) Mutuality of obligation sufficient to support the agreement to arbitrate;\n(c) Ensuring procedural fairness for the parties to access arbitration, including a\nfair process for selecting an impartial arbitrator and the equitable, lawful\nallocation of arbitration costs between the parties;\n(d) Ensuring that the parties to the agreement shall have at least one (1) channel\nfor the pursuit of a legal claim, either by requiring the claim to be arbitrated\nindividually pursuant to the agreement or otherwise; and\n(e) Empowering the arbitrator to award all types of relief for a particular type of\nclaim that would otherwise be available for a party through judicial\nenforcement, including punitive damages as provided by law.\n(6) An arbitrator selected to arbitrate an agreement entered into pursuant to this section\nshall disqualify himself or herself if he or she has any of the conflicts enumerated\nunder KRS 26A.015(2).\n(7) If an arbitration agreement fails to specify the manner of  procedure to govern the\narbitration process, such as, for example, by failing to designate arbitral protocols\npromulgated by the American Arbitration Association or similar organization, then\nthe arbitrator shall use the Kentucky Rules of Civil Procedure in the conduct of the\narbitration.\n(8) This section shall apply prospectively and retroactively. Any provision of an\nagreement executed prior to June 27, 2019, that violates the requirements of\nsubsection (3)(c) of this section shall be stricken from the a greement and shall not\noperate to invalidate the entire agreement.\n(9) The provisions of this section shall not apply to collective bargaining agreements\nentered into between employers and the respective representatives of member\nemployees.","path":["KRS Chapter 336"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=48783","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:58:26Z","sha256":"c0519c0df033570f46ef768071d4ebcc2cd695ddb4ca797801bca92c426bd599","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-336.680","next":"us-ky/krs-336.985"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}