{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-337.285","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 337.285","heading":"Time and a half for employment in excess of forty hours -- Compensatory","body":"time -- County or city employee, Trooper R Class, CVE R Class -- Designated\nwork period for professional firefighters.\n(1) No employer shall employ any of his or her employees for a work week longer than\nforty (40) hours, unless such employee receives compensation for his or her\nemployment in excess of forty (40) hours in a work week at a rate of not less than\none and one-half (1-1/2) times the hourly wage rate at which he or she is employed.\n(2) This provision shall not apply to the following:\n(a) Employees of retail stores engaged in work connected with selling,\npurchasing, and distributing merchandise, wares, goods, articles, or\ncommodities;\n(b) Employees of restaurant, hotel, and motel operations;\n(c) Employees as defined and exempted from the overtime provision of the Fair\nLabor Standards Act in Sections 213(b)(1), 213(b)(6), 213(b)(10), and\n213(b)(17) of Title 29, U.S.C.;\n(d) Employees whose function is to provide twenty-four (24) hour residential care\non the employer's premises in a parental role to children who are primarily\ndependent, neglected, and abused and who are in the care of private nonprofit\nchildcaring facilities licensed by the Cabinet for Health and Fam ily Services\nunder KRS 199.640 to 199.670; or\n(e) Any individual who is employed by a third -party employer or agency other\nthan the family or household using his or her services to provide in -home\ncompanionship services for a sick, convalescing, or elderly person.\n(3) As used in subsection (2) of this section, \"companionship services\" means those\nservices which provide in -home fellowship, care, and protection for a person who,\nbecause of advanced age or physical or mental infirmity, cannot care for his or h er\nown needs. These services may include household work related to the care of the\naged or infirm person such as meal preparation, bed making, washing of clothes,\nand other similar services. They may also include the performance of general\nhousehold work, provided that the household work is incidental, i.e., does not\nexceed twenty percent (20%) of the total weekly hours worked. The term\n\"companionship services\" does not include services relating to the care and\nprotection of the aged or infirm which require  and are performed by trained\npersonnel, such as a registered or practical nurse.\n(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this section or any other chapter\nof the KRS to the contrary, upon written request by a county or city employee or a\nTrooper R Class or CVE R Class, made freely and without coercion, pressure, or\nsuggestion by the employer, and upon a written agreement reached between the\nemployer and the county or city employee or the Trooper R Class or CVE R Class\nbefore the performance of the work, a county or city employee or a Trooper R Class\nor CVE R Class who is authorized to work one (1) or more hours in excess of the\nprescribed hours per week may be granted compensatory leave on an hour -for-hour\nbasis. Upon the written request by a county or city employee or a Trooper R Class\nor CVE R Class, made freely and without coercion, pressure, or suggestion by the\nemployer, and upon a written agreement reached between the employer and the\ncounty or city employee or the Trooper R Class or CV E R Class, before the\nperformance of the work, a county or city employee or a Trooper R Class or CVE R\nClass who is not exempt from the provisions of the Federal Fair Labor Standards\nAct of 1938, as amended, 29 U.S.C. sec. 201 et seq., may be granted compe nsatory\ntime in lieu of overtime pay, at the rate of not less than one and one -half (1-1/2)\nhours for each hour the county or city employee or the Trooper R Class or CVE R\nClass is authorized to work in excess of forty (40) hours in a work week.\n(5) (a) Upon the request of the county or city employee or the Trooper R Class or\nCVE R Class, and as provided in subsection (4) of this section, compensatory\ntime shall be awarded as follows:\n1. A county or city employee who provided work in excess of forty (40)\nhours in a public safety activity, an emergency response activity, or a\nseasonal activity as described in 29 C.F.R. sec. 553.24, may accrue not\nmore than four hundred eighty (480) hours of compensatory time; or\n2. A county or city employee or a Trooper R Class or CVE R Class\nengaged in other work in excess of forty (40) hours, may accrue not\nmore than two hundred forty (240) hours of compensatory time.\n(b) A county or city employee or a Tro oper R Class or CVE R Class who has\naccrued four hundred eighty (480) hours of compensatory time off pursuant to\nparagraph (a)1. of this subsection, or two hundred forty (240) hours of\ncompensatory time off pursuant to paragraph (a)2. of this subsection, s hall for\nadditional overtime hours of work, be paid overtime compensation.\n(6) A county or city employee or a Trooper R Class or CVE R Class who has accrued\ncompensatory time off as provided in subsection (4) of this section, and who\nrequested the use of c ompensatory time, shall be permitted by the employer to use\nthe compensatory time within a reasonable period after making the request if the\nuse of the compensatory time does not unduly disrupt the operations of the\nemployer. Mere inconvenience to the employer shall not constitute a sufficient basis\nfor denial of a county or city employee's request or a Trooper R Class or CVE R\nClass request for compensatory time off.\n(7) If compensation is paid to a county or city employee or a Trooper R Class or CVE\nR Class for accrued compensatory time off, the compensation shall be paid at the\nregular rate earned by the county or city employee or the Trooper R Class or CVE\nR Class at the time the county or city employee or the Trooper R Class or CVE R\nClass receives the payment.\n(8) Upon a county or city employee's termination of employment or the termination of\nemployment of a Trooper R Class or CVE R Class, all unused accrued\ncompensatory time shall be paid at a rate of compensation not less than:\n(a) The average regula r rate received by the county or city employee or the\nTrooper R Class or CVE R Class during the last three (3) years of the\nemployment of the county or city employee or Trooper R Class or CVE R\nClass; or\n(b) The final regular rate received by the county or  city employee or Trooper R\nClass or CVE R Class, whichever is higher.\n(9) Compensatory time shall not be used as a means to avoid statutory overtime\ncompensation. A county or city employee or a Trooper R Class or CVE R Class\nshall have the right to use co mpensatory time earned and shall not be coerced to\naccept more compensatory time than an employer can realistically and in good faith\nexpect to be able to grant within a reasonable period upon the county or city\nemployee or the Trooper R Class or CVE R Cla ss making the request for\ncompensatory time off.\n(10) Nothing in subsections (4) to (9) of this section shall be construed to supersede any\ncollective bargaining agreement, memorandum of understanding, or any other\nagreement between the employer and representative of the county or city employees\nor the Trooper R Class or CVE R Class.\n(11) As used in subsections (4) to (9) of this section:\n(a) \"County or city employee\" means an employee of any county, city, charter\ncounty, consolidated local government, unif ied local government, or urban -\ncounty government, including an employee of a county or city elected official;\n(b) \"CVE R Class\" has the same meaning as in KRS 16.010; and\n(c) \"Trooper R Class\" has the same meaning as in KRS 16.010.\n(12) In addition to the designation of a work week under subsection (1) of this section,\nlocal governments, as defined in KRS 95A.210(5), may designate a work period for\nprofessional firefighter employees as defined in KRS 95A.210. The designated\nwork period shall be not less tha n one (1) work week of seven (7) consecutive days\nand not more than four (4) work weeks of twenty -eight (28) consecutive days for\npurposes of complying with the requirements of the Federal Labor Standards Act of\n1938, as amended, 29 U.S.C. sec. 201 et seq. This subsection shall not exempt local\ngovernments from complying with the overtime requirements set forth in subsection\n(1) of this section and is intended to:\n(a) Clarify the option to designate both a work week for compliance with\nKentucky law and a wo rk period for compliance with the Fair Labor\nStandards Act of 1938, as amended, 29 U.S.C. sec. 201 et seq.; and\n(b) Allow for the application of the partial exemption set forth in 29 U.S.C. sec.\n207(k) in determining overtime pay under the Fair Labor Stand ards Act of\n1938, as amended, 29 U.S.C. sec. 201 et seq., only.\n(13) (a) A law enforcement department of a consolidated local government organized\nunder KRS Chapter 67C, a city of the home rule class, or a sheriff's office or\ncounty police force, shall not  be deemed to have violated subsection (1) of\nthis section with respect to the employment of a peace officer if:\n1. The officer works eighty (80) hours or less in a work period of fourteen\n(14) consecutive days; and\n2. a. For a law enforcement department o f a consolidated local\ngovernment operating under KRS 67C.408 and organized under\nKRS Chapter 67C, the law enforcement department and any other\nentity working with the law enforcement department that includes\nthe officer agree to the exception;\nb. For a law enforcement department of a city of the home rule class,\nthe law enforcement department and any other entity working with\nthe law enforcement department agree to the exception. If there is\nno other entity working with the law enforcement department or\nthe officer in a city of the home rule class, only the requirement in\nsubparagraph 1. of this paragraph shall be met;\nc. For a sheriff's office operating under KRS 70.262, the sheriff's\noffice and any other entity working with the sheriff's office agree\nto the exception. If the sheriff's office does not operate under KRS\n70.262, only the requirement in subparagraph 1. of this paragraph\nshall be met; or\nd. For a county police force operating under KRS 67A.6902, the\ncounty police force and any other entity work ing with the county\npolice force agree to the exception. If the county police force does\nnot operate under KRS 67A.6902, only the requirement in\nsubparagraph 1. of this paragraph shall be met.\n(b) It is the intent of this subsection to allow the employment  of a peace officer\nfor longer than forty (40) hours in any seven (7) consecutive days within a\nfourteen (14) day work period without incurring the obligation to pay a rate of\nnot less than one and one -half (1-1/2) times the officer's hourly wage under\nsubsection (1) of this section.","path":["KRS Chapter 337"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=54508","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:58:26Z","sha256":"35fd4bf62527bd7b13c5b0fb6cccad5153c53616651cf06931ae4ad3ca316d97","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-337.280","next":"us-ky/krs-337.290"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}