New hire reporting requirement
All Kansas employers must report each newly hired or rehired employee to the Kansas Secretary of Labor within 20 business days of the hiring, rehiring, or return to work. A "newly hired employee" includes any employee who has not previously been employed by the employer, or who was previously employed but has been separated from that prior employment. Required information includes the employee's name, address, Social Security number, and date services for remuneration first began, plus the employer's name, address, and federal tax identification number. Reports may be submitted online, by fax, or by mail to the Kansas New Hire Directory.
Source: K.S.A. 75-5743
Child labor — age and hour restrictions
Kansas child labor law, codified at K.S.A. 38-602 and 38-603, regulates the employment of workers under 18 years of age. The law imposes minimum-age requirements, hours-of-work limits, and hazardous-occupation prohibitions that vary by the minor's age. Where federal Fair Labor Standards Act provisions are more restrictive, the federal rule governs.
Minimum age and general prohibition
K.S.A. 38-602 prohibits the employment of any child under 18 "in any occupation, trade or business which is in any way dangerous or injurious to the life, health, safety, morals or welfare of such minor." The statute authorizes the Kansas Secretary of Labor to hold public hearings and adopt regulations specifying which occupations fall within this prohibition. According to the Kansas Department of Labor, workers must generally be at least 14 years old to work, and workers under 14 cannot be employed except in limited categories including employment by parents in non-hazardous work, household chores, paper routes, farm work, and as child actors. This minimum-age floor aligns with federal FLSA standards.
Work permits for minors under 16
The Kansas Department of Labor indicates that minors aged 14 or 15 must obtain an employment certificate (work permit) if they are not enrolled in or attending secondary school. K.S.A. 38-604 requires employers hiring children under 16 to obtain and keep on file a work permit accessible to state inspectors. The permit is issued by school officials. Minors actively enrolled in secondary school are exempt from the permit requirement.
Hours restrictions — 14- and 15-year-olds
Kansas law limits work hours for minors aged 14 and 15. According to the Kansas Department of Labor, these workers may work no more than 8 hours on a school day or non-school day, and no more than 40 hours in a workweek regardless of whether school is in session. On days before a school day, 14- and 15-year-olds may work only between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. Kansas law does not restrict the times they may work on days before non-school days. The federal FLSA imposes additional restrictions on this age group, including limits of 3 hours on a school day, 18 hours in a school week, and evening curfews (generally 7 p.m., extending to 9 p.m. from June 1 through Labor Day). Where the federal restriction is more stringent, it applies instead of the state rule.
No state hour restrictions for 16- and 17-year-olds
Kansas child labor law does not restrict the number of hours or times of day that minors aged 16 and 17 may work, except that an employer may not require a minor to work when the minor is supposed to be in school. Federal hazardous-occupation orders under 29 C.F.R. Part 570 continue to apply to 16- and 17-year-olds, prohibiting employment in specified hazardous jobs such as roofing, excavation, demolition, operation of power-driven hoisting apparatus, work in slaughtering or meat-packing plants, and operation of certain power-driven equipment.
Enforcement
Violations of Kansas child labor laws carry civil penalties under K.S.A. 38-612. The Kansas Department of Labor's Office of Employment Standards enforces the state law through complaint investigations and periodic audits. Federal child labor violations under the FLSA are enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division and can result in civil monetary penalties of up to $11,000 per violation, with enhanced penalties for violations causing serious injury or death.
Source: K.S.A. 38-602 Source: Kansas Department of Labor — Workplace Laws