Kansas — Wage & Hour

Kansas law sets a minimum wage of $7.25 per hour for employees not covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). However, the Kansas minimum wage statute explicitly excludes employers and employees already covered by the FLSA, meaning most Kansas employers are subject to the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour rather than the state statute.

Source: K.S.A. § 44-1203

Kansas law requires overtime pay at 1.5× the regular hourly wage for hours worked beyond 46 in a workweek. However, this state threshold applies only to employers and employees not covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Because the FLSA covers most private employers (those with annual gross revenue of at least $500,000 or engaged in interstate commerce) and sets a 40-hour overtime threshold, the federal 40-hour rule applies to the majority of Kansas workers. The Kansas 46-hour threshold governs only the small subset of employers outside FLSA coverage.

Source: K.S.A. § 44-1204

Kansas requires employers to pay all earned wages to a separated employee no later than the next regular payday the employee would have received if still employed. This deadline applies uniformly to both involuntary terminations (discharge) and voluntary separations (resignation or quit). Under K.S.A. § 44-315(a), "Whenever an employer discharges an employee or whenever an employee quits or resigns, the employer shall pay the employee's earned wages not later than the next regular payday upon which he or she would have been paid if still employed."

The statute does not distinguish between the reason for separation or create an accelerated payment obligation for terminations; the deadline is identical whether the employer fires the employee or the employee walks out. If, for example, an employer pays on a biweekly cycle with paydays falling every other Friday, and an employee is terminated (or resigns) on a Wednesday, the final paycheck is due on the next scheduled Friday payday, not immediately upon separation.

Penalty for willful non-payment. An employer who willfully fails to pay final wages as required under K.S.A. § 44-315(a) incurs a penalty of 1% of the unpaid wages for each business day (excluding Sundays and legal holidays) the failure continues after the eighth day following the required payment date, capped at 100% of the unpaid wages—whichever is less. The penalty clock starts on the ninth day after the payday; the first eight days following the missed payday are a grace period. Under K.S.A. § 44-315(b), "such employer shall be liable to the employee for the wages due and also shall be liable to the employee for a penalty in the fixed amount of 1% of the unpaid wages for each day, except Sunday and legal holidays, upon which such failure continues after the eighth day after the day upon which payment is required or in an amount equal to 100% of the unpaid wages, whichever is less."

Kansas courts have held that the penalty applies only to willful violations; a good-faith dispute over the amount owed (e.g., disagreement about whether accrued vacation counts as "earned wages" under the employer's policy) does not trigger the penalty, though the underlying wages remain due if the employee prevails. Weinzirl v. The Wells Group, Inc., 234 Kan. 1016, 1021, 1023, 677 P.2d 1004 (1984).

What counts as "earned wages." The statute requires payment of "earned wages," defined under K.S.A. § 44-313(c) as "compensation for labor or services rendered by an employee, whether the amount is determined on a time, task, piece, commission or other basis." Kansas courts have held that accrued vacation pay owed under an employer's written policy or contractual commitment is an "earned wage" that must be included in the final paycheck. Lindstrom v. St. Francis Hosp. & Med. Center, Inc., 6 Kan. App. 2d 948, 951, 636 P.2d 231 (1981). However, Kansas law does not mandate payout of unused vacation or PTO absent an employer policy or contract requiring it; if the employer's handbook or practice is silent, no payout is owed. The Kansas Department of Labor FAQs confirm that payout is required "only if your employer has a policy or practice of paying for unused vacation time."

Federal law (FLSA) does not regulate final paycheck timing; Kansas law governs this topic for nearly all Kansas employers.

Source: K.S.A. § 44-315

Source: K.S.A. § 44-313

Source: Kansas Department of Labor Workplace Laws FAQs

Kansas law requires employers to pay all employees — hourly and salaried alike — at least once during each calendar month, on regular paydays designated in advance by the employer. K.S.A. § 44-314(a) draws no distinction between employee classifications; the monthly minimum frequency applies uniformly to every employee. An employer may choose a weekly, biweekly, or semimonthly pay schedule, but payment cannot be less frequent than monthly.

Paydays must be designated in advance. The employer must establish and communicate regular paydays to employees before the pay periods occur. K.S.A. § 44-314(a) states that payment occurs "on regular paydays designated in advance by the employer."

Maximum pay-period lag — 15-day rule. Kansas law also restricts how much of a lag is permitted between the end of a pay period and the payday on which wages for that period are paid. Under K.S.A. § 44-314(h), "The end of the pay period for which payment is made on a regular payday shall be not more than 15 days before such regular payday unless a variance in such requirement is authorized by state or federal law."

This 15-day maximum is absolute unless a specific state or federal statute or regulation authorizes a longer lag. The statute does not create a general exception for administrative convenience or payroll processing time beyond the 15-day window.

Interplay with final-paycheck timing. The regular-payday requirement under § 44-314 is cross-referenced in Kansas's final-paycheck statute, K.S.A. § 44-315(a), which requires final wages upon separation to be paid "not later than the next regular payday upon which [the employee] would have been paid if still employed as provided under K.S.A. 44-314 either through the regular pay channels or by mail postmarked within the deadlines herein specified if requested by the employee." An employer's regular payday schedule (including compliance with the 15-day lag rule) thus establishes the final-paycheck deadline.

Penalty for non-payment. Kansas law imposes a 1% daily penalty (capped at 100% of unpaid wages) for willful failure to pay wages as required under K.S.A. § 44-314 or § 44-315(a). Under K.S.A. § 44-315(b), "If an employer willfully fails to pay an employee wages as required by K.S.A. 44-314, and amendments thereto, or as required under subsection (a) of this section, such employer shall be liable to the employee for the wages due and also shall be liable to the employee for a penalty in the fixed amount of 1% of the unpaid wages for each day, except Sunday and legal holidays, upon which such failure continues after the eighth day after the day upon which payment is required or in an amount equal to 100% of the unpaid wages, whichever is less."

The penalty clock starts on the ninth day after the required payment date; the first eight days following the missed payday are a grace period. The penalty applies only to willful violations. Kansas courts have held that a good-faith dispute over the amount owed (e.g., disagreement about whether accrued vacation counts as "earned wages" under the employer's policy) does not trigger the penalty, though the underlying wages remain due if the employee prevails. Weinzirl v. The Wells Group, Inc., 234 Kan. 1016, 1021, 1023, 677 P.2d 1004 (1984).

Federal law (the Fair Labor Standards Act) does not regulate pay frequency; Kansas law governs this topic for Kansas employers.

Source: K.S.A. § 44-314

Source: K.S.A. § 44-315

Source: Kansas Department of Labor Workplace Laws FAQs

Kansas law permits employers to pay tipped employees a reduced cash wage of $2.13 per hour, provided the employee's tips combined with the cash wage equal at least the full Kansas minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. The maximum tip credit an employer may claim is $5.12 per hour (the difference between $7.25 and the $2.13 cash minimum).

Under K.S.A. § 44-1203(b), "For employees receiving tips and gratuities, the employer shall pay a minimum wage of at least $2.13 an hour." The employer may include tips and gratuities received by the employee when calculating whether the employee has received the full minimum wage, if such tips and gratuities have customarily constituted part of the employee's remuneration and the employee actually received and retained the tips.

Make-up pay obligation. If an employee's tips combined with the $2.13 hourly cash wage do not equal at least $7.25 per hour for a given workweek (or shorter compliance period), the employer must pay the difference. K.S.A. § 44-1203(b) provides that when the combined amount of the employee's tips and the minimum wage rate prescribed in the subsection is "less than $7.25 an hour, the employer must pay the employee the difference between $7.25 an hour and the actual hourly amount received by the employee determined by combining the amount of tips and gratuities received by the employee with the minimum wage prescribed by this subsection paid by the employer."

The make-up payment ensures the employee receives the equivalent of at least $7.25 per hour in total compensation for all hours worked, regardless of tip variation.

Applicability — FLSA coverage controls. The Kansas tipped-wage provision, like the rest of K.S.A. § 44-1203, applies only to employers and employees not covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). K.S.A. § 44-1203(c) explicitly provides that "The provisions of this section shall not apply to any employers and employees who are covered under the provisions of the federal fair labor standards act (29 U.S.C.A. § 201 et seq.)."

Because the FLSA covers most private employers (generally those with at least $500,000 in annual gross revenue or engaged in interstate commerce) and sets an identical federal tipped minimum cash wage of $2.13 per hour under 29 U.S.C. § 203(m), the practical effect is that most Kansas tipped employees are governed by the federal tipped-wage rules rather than the state statute. The Kansas rule provides a fallback for the narrow category of tipped employees whose employers are not subject to the FLSA.

The federal FLSA tipped-wage provisions, including notice requirements and tip-pooling restrictions, are detailed in the federal Wage & Hour guide.

Source: K.S.A. § 44-1203

Kansas law does not require employers to provide meal breaks or rest breaks to employees age 16 and older. The Kansas Department of Labor confirms that "breaks are not required under state or federal law" for this adult employee population. Employers remain free to provide breaks voluntarily, but no statute or regulation compels them to do so.

Exception for employees under age 16. The Kansas Department of Labor guidance notes that employees under the age of 16 are excepted from the general no-break-required rule, implying that minors under 16 do have break protections. (Kansas child labor law, including any minor-specific break requirements, is covered in a separate section of this guide or in the Kansas Hiring & Onboarding guide.)

Payment rules when breaks are voluntarily provided. Although Kansas does not mandate breaks, when an employer chooses to provide them federal wage-and-hour rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act govern whether the break time must be paid. The U.S. Department of Labor (WHD) interprets the FLSA as follows:

• Short rest breaks (typically 5 to 20 minutes) must be counted as compensable hours worked and paid at the employee's regular rate. These brief periods primarily benefit the employer by promoting efficiency and are not true off-duty periods.

• Meal breaks of 30 minutes or longer may be unpaid if the employee is completely relieved of all work duties during the break. If the employee is required to remain on-call, monitor equipment, answer phones, or perform any other work duty during the meal period, the entire break is compensable working time and must be paid.

The bright-line distinction is duty-free status, not merely the break's label. An employer who calls a 30-minute period a "lunch break" but requires the employee to remain at a workstation or respond to customer inquiries has created compensable working time, not an unpaid meal period.

Federal nursing-mother break rights. Under the FLSA's PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act (29 U.S.C. § 218d, effective December 29, 2022), covered employers must provide non-exempt nursing employees reasonable unpaid break time to express breast milk for one year following the child's birth, and a private space (other than a bathroom) shielded from view and free from intrusion. This federal requirement applies in Kansas regardless of the absence of state break mandates. Employers with fewer than 50 employees may claim undue hardship, but the exemption is narrow.

Contrast with other states. Many states impose affirmative meal-break or rest-break obligations—California requires a 30-minute meal period for shifts over 5 hours and a paid 10-minute rest break for every 4 hours worked; New York mandates a 30-minute meal break for shifts over 6 hours. Kansas has no parallel state rule, leaving break provision entirely to employer discretion (subject only to the federal payment rules when breaks are granted).

Because Kansas imposes no affirmative break requirement and federal law likewise does not mandate breaks for most employees, employers setting Kansas-only policy may lawfully schedule no meal or rest breaks at all for adult workers. However, many employers provide breaks as a matter of workplace practice, and once provided, those breaks become subject to the FLSA payment rules and may create enforceable expectations under the employer's written policy or past practice.

Source: Kansas Department of Labor Workplace Laws FAQs

Source: 29 U.S.C. § 218d (PUMP for Nursing Mothers Act)

Source: 29 C.F.R. § 785.18 (rest periods)

Source: 29 C.F.R. § 785.19 (meal periods)

Kansas law prohibits employers from withholding, deducting, or diverting any portion of an employee's wages unless the deduction falls within one of the narrow categories established by K.S.A. § 44-319. The statute creates a default rule against deductions; the employer bears the burden of demonstrating that any deduction is authorized.

Four permitted categories — ongoing wages (subsection (a)).

An employer may deduct from an employee's ongoing wages only if one of the following four conditions is met:

1. Required or permitted by state or federal law. Deductions that the employer is required or empowered to make by statute or regulation are permitted without employee authorization. K.S.A. § 44-319(a)(1). This category includes federal and state income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare (FICA) taxes, court-ordered wage garnishments, and child support withholding orders.

1. Medical, surgical, or hospital care. Deductions for medical, surgical, or hospital care or services are permitted if (a) the deductions are without financial benefit to the employer, and (b) the employer openly, clearly, and in due course records the deductions in the employer's books. Employee authorization is not required for this category. K.S.A. § 44-319(a)(2).

1. Signed employee authorization for lawful purpose accruing to the benefit of the employee. The employer may make deductions if the employer has a signed authorization by the employee for deductions for a lawful purpose accruing to the benefit of the employee. K.S.A. § 44-319(a)(3). The authorization must be in writing and signed by the employee before the deduction is made. Kansas courts have interpreted this category narrowly, holding that employees may not waive the statute's protections and that a contract purporting to permit deductions that do not actually benefit the employee (such as deductions for cash shortages, inventory losses, or breakage) contravenes the Wage Payment Act and is unenforceable. The statute's annotations cite Weinzirl v. The Wells Group, Inc., 234 Kan. 1016, 1019, 677 P.2d 1004 (1984), which held that an employer is prohibited from withholding wages in a manner that contravenes K.S.A. § 44-319(a)(3).

1. Automatic enrollment in retirement plans. Deductions for contributions attributable to automatic enrollment (as defined in K.S.A. § 44-319a) in a retirement plan described in Internal Revenue Code sections 401(k), 403(b), 408, 408A, or 457 are permitted. K.S.A. § 44-319(a)(4).

Additional deductions permitted with signed written agreement (subsection (b)).

An employer may deduct from an employee's ongoing wages for the following purposes only if the employer and employee have signed a written agreement authorizing the deduction:

• Repayment of a loan or advance the employer made to the employee during the course of and within the scope of employment;
• Recovery of payroll overpayment; or
• The replacement cost or unpaid balance of the cost of the employer's merchandise or uniforms purchased by the employee.

K.S.A. § 44-319(b). These deductions require a signed written agreement executed before the deduction is made; a general signed authorization under subsection (a)(3) is not sufficient.

Deductions from final wages (subsection (c)).

Upon providing written notice and explanation to the employee, an employer may withhold, deduct, or divert any portion of an employee's final wages for three purposes:

1. Recovery of employer property. To recover the employer's property provided to the employee in the course of the employer's business—including tools of the trade or profession, personal safety equipment, computers, electronic devices, mobile phones, proprietary information (client or customer lists and intellectual property), security information, keys, access cards, or other materials—until such time as the property is returned. Upon return of the employer's property, the employer must relinquish the wages withheld to the employee. K.S.A. § 44-319(c)(1).

1. Loan or advance repayment. To allow the employee to repay a loan or advance the employer made to the employee during the course of and within the scope of employment. K.S.A. § 44-319(c)(2).

1. Payroll overpayment. To allow for the recovery of payroll overpayment. K.S.A. § 44-319(c)(3).

The final-wage deductions under subsection (c) require written notice and explanation to the employee, but do not require the employee's signed authorization or agreement. The statute does not specify the timing or content of the "written notice and explanation," but employers should provide sufficient detail for the employee to understand the basis for and amount of the deduction before it is made.

Charitable contributions and union dues (subsection (d)).

Kansas law explicitly provides that K.S.A. § 44-319 does not prohibit withholding of amounts authorized in writing by the employee to be contributed to charitable organizations. The statute also does not prohibit deductions by check-off of dues to labor organizations or service fees, where not otherwise prohibited by law. K.S.A. § 44-319(d).

Minimum wage floor (subsection (e)).

All deductions permitted under K.S.A. § 44-319 are subject to a statutory floor: amounts withheld under the section may not reduce wages paid to below the minimum wage required under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.) or the minimum wage required under K.S.A. § 44-1203, whichever is applicable. K.S.A. § 44-319(e).

Because the Kansas minimum wage for employees not covered by the FLSA is $7.25 per hour (see the minimum wage rate section of this guide), and most Kansas employers are subject to the FLSA's $7.25 federal minimum, the practical effect is that deductions cannot reduce an employee's net pay below $7.25 per hour for any workweek. This minimum-wage floor applies to all categories of deductions—mandatory tax withholding, benefit-of-employee deductions under signed authorization, deductions pursuant to signed written agreements under subsection (b), and final-wage deductions under subsection (c).

Interpretation and enforcement.

The Kansas Department of Labor has issued administrative regulations (Kansas Administrative Regulations, Article 49-20) that interpret K.S.A. § 44-319(a)(3)'s "accruing to the benefit of the employee" language and provide examples of permitted and prohibited deductions. These regulations specify, for instance, that deductions for cash shortages, inventory shortages, breakage, returned checks, bad credit card sales, losses from burglaries or robberies, and alleged negligent acts do not accrue to the benefit of the employee and are therefore prohibited even if the employee signs a purported authorization. Employers should consult K.A.R. § 49-20-1 for additional detail.

An employer who withholds wages in violation of K.S.A. § 44-319 may be liable under the Kansas Wage Payment Act for the unpaid wages plus the statutory penalty under K.S.A. § 44-315(b) if the violation is willful (1% of unpaid wages per business day after the eighth day following the required payment date, capped at 100% of unpaid wages).

Source: K.S.A. § 44-319