Kentucky — Workplace Discrimination

The Kentucky Civil Rights Act (KRS Chapter 344) applies to employers with eight or more employees within the state in each of twenty or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year. For disability discrimination claims, the threshold is fifteen or more employees. Employers below these thresholds are not covered by the KCRA, though federal anti-discrimination laws may still apply.

Source: KRS 344.030; KCHR FAQs

KRS 344.040 makes it unlawful for employers to discriminate based on an individual's race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age forty (40) and over, or because the person is a qualified individual with a disability. The statute defines "qualified individual with a disability" by reference to KRS 344.030. Additionally, KRS 344.040(1)(a) prohibits discrimination against smokers or nonsmokers, provided the individual complies with applicable workplace smoking policies. Kentucky state law does not currently include sexual orientation or gender identity as protected classes, though those characteristics receive protection under Title VII in the Sixth Circuit following Bostock v. Clayton County, 140 S. Ct. 1731 (2020).

Source: KRS 344.040

KRS 344.180 and 344.190 require the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights (KCHR) to receive, investigate, conciliate, and hold hearings on complaints alleging unlawful discrimination under the Kentucky Civil Rights Act. The commission's administrative regulation, 104 KAR 1:020, establishes procedures for filing and processing these complaints.

Where and how to file. Complaints must be filed with the commission at its Louisville office: The Heyburn Building, 332 West Broadway, Suite 700, Louisville, Kentucky 40202. Filing assistance is available Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. The complaint may be filed by personal delivery or mail. A complainant may also provide the information for a complaint by telephone; commission staff will reduce the telephone information to writing on the appropriate complaint form and send the form to the complainant to be signed, unless the information fails to establish a violation of KRS 344.010 to 344.500, 344.600 to 344.680, or 344.990.

Complaint forms. KCHR provides different forms depending on the type of claim and whether the complaint is dual-filed with a federal agency. For employment discrimination complaints, the claimant may use either (1) the "Complaint of Discrimination" form for a KCHR-only filing, or (2) the "Charge of Discrimination" form for complaints dual-filed with the EEOC under the agencies' work-sharing agreement. The complaint must be signed and affirmed or sworn before a notary public or other person authorized by law to administer oaths and take acknowledgments.

Exclusive jurisdiction during pendency. Once a discrimination claim is pending before KCHR or before a court, KRS 344.270 prohibits the other body from taking jurisdiction over the same claim until a final determination is reached. This means a claimant cannot simultaneously pursue the same claim in both forums; the statute requires an election. KRS 344.270 also provides that a final determination by the commission or a court is exclusive—once one body issues a final determination, the other is permanently barred from re-litigating the claim.

Unconfirmed procedural details. Unable to confirm the filing deadline for KCHR complaints (widely reported as 180 days from the discriminatory act) as of 2026-05-29; the expected statutory source, KRS 344.200, was not accessible during research. Unable to confirm whether Kentucky law requires administrative exhaustion (filing with KCHR) before proceeding to state court, or whether a claimant may proceed directly to court under the KCRA, as of 2026-05-29.

Source: 104 KAR 1:020 (KCHR administrative procedures); KRS 344.270 (exclusive jurisdiction)