Kansas Labor Laws Explained
Kansas labor laws are designed to safeguard the rights of employees and employers. The purpose is to regulate the employer-employee relationship and set standards for employers to follow in a workplace setting. Employers and employees must comply with the state and federal laws that govern the hiring, firing, payment, and working conditions of each employee. These laws are comprehensive and govern whether an employee is exiled or free to do as they please.
The Kansas Department of Labor ("KDOL") information on labor laws reflects the regulations associated with wages, hours worked, civil rights, and temporary disability benefits. The KDOL defines the Kansas Minimum Wage law as The Fair Labor Standards Law which provides for the obligation of Kansas employers to pay their employees a minimum wage for both hours worked and overtime, maintains child labor standards, and provides for record keeping.
The Kansas Civil Rights Act ("KCRA") prohibits employment discrimination based on certain characteristics. It protects individual employees and applicants from discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), disability, national origin, age (40 or older), and gender identity.
Kansas is an Employment-At-Will state . The Employment-At-Will doctrine allows employers to terminate an employee’s employment at any time, without notice, and without cause, as long as it is not unlawful. Chief Justice Robinson explained the concept in a 2017 case like this, "Employment relations in Kansas are generally not contractual and may be terminated with or without cause." Employers may discharge employees for an "unsatisfactory attitude," according to the 1979 case of Carver v. Kerbs, 2 Kan.App.2d 501, 509, 581 P.2d 816 (1978). Additionally, a Kansas Court in the 1919 case of Gardner v. Loomis, 104 Kan. 655, 658, 180 P. 1036 (1919) held that "When an employee enters into a contract of employment with no stipulation as to the term of service, the employment continues during the pleasure of both the employer and the employee … that right [to terminate] must be recognized."
The Kansas Administrative Regulations provide employment policies that apply to public agencies including adequacy in the allocation of funds for the payment of employees, obligate that employees will be paid correctly and timely, a goal to recruit and retain qualified personnel, and maintain the Statewide Human Capital Management System ("SHCMS") to be accurate and current.
Kansas Wage and Hour Laws
Minimum Wage. The minimum wage requirements in Kansas mirror the federal law, and Kansas adheres to the same FLSA definitions. As such, the minimum wage in Kansas is $7.25 per hour. Covered employees generally include those at a business with at least one employee and those engaged in interstate commerce. There are several exceptions to minimum wage laws, including, but not limited to: employees under 20 years old can be paid 75% of the hourly minimum wage during their first 90 days of employment; tipped employees can be paid a minimum wage of $3.35 per hour if at least $30 per month in tips are received.
Overtime. Kansas law adopts the federal law regarding overtime requirements. Thus, non-exempt employees who work more than 40 hours in one workweek are entitled to pay at one and one-half times their regular hourly rate for each hour of overtime worked.
Recent Changes/Updates. There have recently been no changes or updates to federal Kansas wage and hour law. In 2011, however, the Kansas legislature voted to keep the minimum wage at the federal level.
Worker’s Compensation Benefits
Worker’s Compensation Rights in Kansas
The worker’s compensation system in Kansas is a no-fault system designed to amend civil tort liability between the employee and employer so that the employer is not subjected to common law liability for ordinary negligence. In a typical workers’ compensation case, the employee files a claim for workers’ comp benefits, and, if granted, the benefits are usually a small portion of what might be awarded in a common law tort action, but that amount is provided without a lot of the downsides to tort litigation.
Workers’ compensation is an exclusive remedy in Kansas, and employees are not entitled to sue their employer for damages related to a work-related injury. However, the law also allows employees to file third-party lawsuits against someone other than the employer who contributed to the employee’s injury. That means, if defective equipment from a third party caused workplace injury, the employee can file a lawsuit against that third party.
Under the Kansas Workers Compensation Act, an employee is entitled to compensation for medical treatment, temporary total disability benefits, temporary partial disability benefits, temporary total disability benefits, permanent partial disability benefits, permanent total disability benefits, and death benefits. The procedures for filing for workers’ compensation claims in Kansas depend on the type of benefits being pursued, but it all starts with the filing of a Claim for Compensation with the Kansas Department of Labor Division of Workers Compensation.
Kansas Employment Discrimination Laws
Federal employment anti-discrimination laws prohibit employers from taking adverse employment action based on the following characteristics: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age (40 or older), disability, pregnancy, and genetic information. Kansas law has corresponding laws that prohibit employment discrimination. The Kansas Human Rights Commission administers state anti-discrimination laws.
Under Kansas law, an employer is prohibited from taking an adverse employment action because of an individual’s: race, religion, color, sex, disability, national origin, age (40 or older), or genetic information.
Kansas anti-discrimination law prohibits employers with four or more employees from taking employment-related actions because of these protected classes. Federal laws prohibit employers with 15 or more employees from taking employment-related actions based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age (40 or older), and genetic information. However, the Kansas workers’ compensation and unemployment compensation laws cover all Kansas employers.
An employer commonly takes the following employment-related actions: hiring, termination, promotion and demotion, compensation, discipline, overtime, benefits, schedule, work assignments, termination and layoff.
If you believe that your employer has treated you differently based on your protected class(es), in most circumstances you employee should file a complaint with the Kansas Human Rights Commission: (785)-296-3206, or Kansas Human Rights Commission at 900 SW Jackson, Suite 568, Landon State Office Building, Topeka, KS 66612-1354.
Federal anti-discrimination laws typically require a complaint be filed with the U.S. Equal Opportunity Employment Commission complain no later than 180 days after an unlawful employment action, unless the unlawful action occurred in a state agency that has its own anti-discrimination law.
Kansas Leave Entitlements
With its range of private employment laws, Kansas has very few statutory employer leave policies. The state does not have any mandated paid time off policies. Kansas, however, does mandate unpaid leave in certain situations, such as jury duty, military service, and leave required under the FMLA.
Unpaid Leave Required Under Kansas Law
Kansas’s version of the Family Medical Leave Act, the Family Leave Act ("FLA") requires employers to provide certain unpaid leaves of absence. Kansas’s FLA is not part of the Federal Family Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") but is an additional state law that requires eligible employers to provide up to six weeks of unpaid leave to eligible employees (including pregnancy leave) with the option of allowing eligible employees to use up to six weeks of their annual accrued sick leave.
Jury Duty Leave Under Kansas Law
In the State of Kansas, there are two types of jury duty leave: Federal Court Jury Duty Leave and State Court Leave. Employers who require their employees to attend jury duty must grant such employees paid leave under both Federal law and Kansas law. The FLSA requires employers to allow employees to attend Federal court jury duty without punishing the employee through pay deductions or disciplinary action. The amount of pay required for Federal jury duty is determined by the district court. The FLSA only provides compensation for federal court jury duty.
Under Kansas law, employers who require their employees to attend court jury duty must pay them in accordance to the following:
An employer cannot require an employee to work an additional hours the week of the employee’s court appearance unless the employee is first given two (2) hours notice that they must work additional hours.
Workplace Safety Regulations in Kansas
Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act of 1970, employers want to uphold "[t]he general duty to furnish to each of his employees employment and a place of employment which are free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to his employees…"
Kansas generally follows the Federal Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA). The Kansas Department of Labor (KDOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) keeps Kansas employers, workers, and visitors safe.
Similar to Title VII, the Kansas Department of Labor prevents Kansas employers from discriminating against employees who file a safety complaint. For example, if you file a safety complaint clearly showing that the employer failed to provide safe equipment, and you are terminated for filing such a complaint, you could have a valid retaliation claim against your employer.
The Kansas OSHA enforces the Kansas Act in the workplace by citing employers who violate it. The Kansas OSHA works to promote workplace safety and health by creating standards that protect the workplace.
Home health and home care services, emergency medical services, construction, agriculture, retail and wholesale trade, healthcare service providers, physicians, engineers, and public sector services fall under the jurisdiction of the Kansas OSHA .
A worker may file an Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) complaint with the Kansas OSHA within six (6) months of an alleged violation of the Kansas Act. An investigation will be conducted by the Kansas OSHA. If the investigator finds a violation of the Kansas Act, the Kansas OSHA may require corrective action on the part of the employer. If there is no finding of the Kansas Act violation, the worker may appeal with a written request.
A worker may file an ELS complaint with the Kansas OSHA within thirty (30) days of an alleged ELS act violation. Under the ELS, a worker may file a complaint against an employer for actions deemed unfair treatment, discrimination, threats, and coercion in a workplace. The ELS also protects workers who report company safety violations, work-related accidents or injuries, or safety threats. A hearing may be held if attempts to resolve the issue at the mediation level are unsuccessful.
If the worker is unsuccessful at the mediation level and at hearing, the complaint may be amended to include an allegation of retaliation. An administrative law judge presides over a retaliation at the Office of Administrative Hearings for the Kansas Department of Labor.
Employee Rights and Obligations Under Kansas Law
Understanding your rights and responsibilities as an employee is essential to both maintaining the integrity of your job, and your own peace of mind within the workplace. When working in Kansas, you are entitled to a number of rights under state and federal labor laws, including:
Organize and Unionize
Under federal law, private-sector employees in the United States have the right to form or join a union, engage in collective bargaining, and strike or take other concerted actions for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection. This is known as Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, and it is prohibited for employers to interfere with, restrain, or coerce their employees while engaging in any of these activities.
Kansas is not a right-to-work state, which means union shop laws are in effect. This means that an employee may be required to join a union and pay membership dues to remain employed in their position—though your employer may not discharge you at any point for refusing to pay union dues if you’ve been employed for 30 days or less, or if the employees of your company have never voted to be represented by a labor organization.
It is legal for employers to make union membership a condition of employment, though if you are in a union and are required to pay dues and don’t want to be involved, you are free to leave the union at any time. While some employers do financially assist unions, such as by distribution of literature, other assistance may violate the law. Should you recognize any of these violations occurring in your workplace, you should file a charge with the National Labor Relations Board.
One additional right covered by the NLRA is the right to receive advice on joining or forming a labor union from your company. While this violates the law if your employer gives you biased advice on joining or forming a labor union, employers are permitted to give common-sense advice.
Termination Protections for Workers
There are federal and state laws affecting the process of terminating workers in Kansas.
As is the case with many states, Kansas is an "at-will" state. That means that unless otherwise agreed upon (such as in a contract), employment may be terminated by the employer or employee at any point and for any lawful reason. Kansas law does not require an employer to provide a reason for termination at the time of discharge, nor does the law prohibit termination for any reason unless it’s related to membership in a protected class under the law, including age, sex, race, and disability. Even in an at-will state, an employer should be mindful of how certain terminations might be viewed by the law. For example, in the case where an employee is being terminated due to complaints about workplace sexual harassment, the potential for retaliation claims by that employee or other employees (which could result in large verdicts at trial) should be considered. Similarly, firing employees based on complaints about safety concerns can have significant legal ramifications. Kansas has a single law protecting workers from wrongful termination – the Kansas Act Against Torts. This act states that it is unlawful for an employer to terminate or discriminate against an employee if: Unlawful retaliation takes place when an employer takes action against an employee for filing a grievance or complaining about an issue at work. Thus, even in at-will states like Kansas, employees can’t be punished or fired for assertively standing up for their rights.
Useful Resources and Legal Support
Employees and employers in the state have a number of resources at their disposal for finding legal assistance or obtaining information on Kansas labor laws.
State agencies, such as the Kansas Department of Labor, provide a wide variety of information on topics from unemployment insurance to wage and hour laws. For example, questions regarding consultation services provided by the state’s Division of Industrial Relations can be found at the agency’s website: http://dol.ks.gov/Services/Consultation.
Many groups provide legal aid to low-income Kansans. The Legal Aid Society (LASS) of Northeast Kansas, Inc. offers advice and representation to certain groups of clients who are financially eligible for services . Additionally, Pro Bono Services of the Kansas Bar Association (KBA) is a statewide program that helps low-income Kansans who do not qualify for assistance from other community programs. While not all types of civil legal issues are covered, a lawyer may be provided in most circumstances.
Legal Aid Services and Pro Bono Services are available in:
Finally, the Administrative Office of the Courts provides a variety of resources, such as forms and guides for dealing with the court system in a convenient online format. Information such as resources for finding lawyers, getting help with debt collection and dealing with minor criminal matters are available on the site.