State-mandated leave requirements — scope
Kentucky does not require private employers to provide paid or unpaid sick leave, vacation leave, or general family and medical leave beyond federal law. The state does mandate unpaid adoption leave for all employers under KRS 337.015, regardless of size. Eligible employees must otherwise rely on federal protections such as FMLA and USERRA for job-protected leave.
Source: KRS 337.015
Adoption leave — duration, eligibility, and parity requirement
Under KRS 337.015, all Kentucky employers must grant employees up to six weeks of reasonable personal leave upon written request for the reception of an adoptive child under age 10. If the employer provides birth parents with more than six weeks of leave or with paid leave, the employer must provide adoptive parents the same type, amount, and duration of leave and benefits. The statute excludes adoptions by fictive kin, stepparents, stepsiblings, blood relatives, or foster parents adopting a child already in their care. The parity requirement ensures adoptive parents receive equivalent treatment to birth parents.
Source: KRS 337.015
Jury duty leave — employer duties and retaliation prohibition
Kentucky law requires all employers to grant employees unpaid leave for jury service and prohibits retaliation. Under KRS 29A.160(1), an employer may not deprive an employee of employment, threaten, or otherwise coerce the employee because the employee receives a jury summons, responds to it, serves as a juror, or attends court for prospective jury service. The statute applies to all stages of the jury-duty process — summoning, responding, appearing for prospective service, and actual jury service — and covers all private and public employers without exception or size threshold.
Remedies for unlawful discharge If an employer discharges an employee in violation of subsection (1), the employee may bring a civil action within 90 days of discharge under KRS 29A.160(2). Available relief includes:
- Recovery of wages lost as a result of the violation;
- An order requiring reinstatement with full seniority and benefits; and
- A reasonable attorney's fee fixed by the court if the employee prevails.
The statute specifies that "damages recoverable shall not exceed lost wages," limiting monetary recovery to economic loss directly traceable to the discharge.
No paid-leave requirement for private employers KRS 29A.160 provides job protection but does not mandate that private employers pay wages during jury service. Employees serving as jurors receive statutory compensation from the court under KRS Chapter 29A, but private employers have no obligation under this statute to supplement or replace that compensation unless they voluntarily offer paid jury leave by policy or contract. The protection is strictly against discharge, threats, and coercion — not a requirement to continue wages.
Source: KRS 29A.160