The following sections of the Kentucky Revised Statutes Annotated concern wage payment law in Kentucky.

• 337.020. Time of payment of wages.
• 337.055. Payment of all wages or salary upon dismissal or voluntary leaving required.
• 337.060. Unlawful for employer to withhold wages.
• 337.065. Unlawful for employer to require remittance of gratuity.
• 337.070. Employer to furnish employee with statement of wage deductions.
• 337.075. Lien on property of employer who violates provisions of chapter--Recording of lien.
• 337.200. Wage payment, Construction work or handling of minerals; Performance bonds.

Every employer doing business in this state shall, as often as semimonthly, pay to each of its employees all wages or salary earned to a day not more than eighteen (18) days prior to the date of that payment. Any employee who is absent at the time fixed for payment, or who, for any other reason, is not paid at that time, shall be paid thereafter at any time upon six (6) days' demand. No employer subject to this section shall, by any means, secure exemption from it. Every such employee shall have a right of action against any such employer for the full amount of his wages due on each regular pay day. The provisions of this section do not apply to those individuals defined in KRS 337.010(2)(a)2.

337.055. Payment of all wages or salary upon dismissal or voluntary leaving required.

Any employee who leaves or is discharged from his employment shall be paid in full all wages or salary earned by him; not later than the next normal pay period following the date of dismissal or voluntary leaving or fourteen (14) days following such date of dismissal or voluntary leaving whichever last occurs. Any employee who is absent at the time fixed for payment by an employer, or who, for any other reason, is not paid at that time, shall be paid thereafter at any time or upon fourteen (14) days' demand. No employer shall, by any means, secure exemption from this section.

337.060. Unlawful for employer to withhold wages.

(1) No employer shall withhold from any employee any part of the wage agreed upon. This section shall not make it unlawful for an employer to withhold or divert any portion of an employee's wage when the employer is authorized to do so by local, state, or federal law or when a deduction is expressly authorized in writing by the employee to cover insurance premiums, hospital and medical dues, or other deductions not amounting to a rebate or deduction from the standard wage arrived at by collective bargaining or pursuant to wage agreement or statute, nor shall it preclude deductions for union dues where such deductions are authorized by joint wage agreements or collective bargaining contracts negotiated between employers and employees or their representative.

(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, no employer shall deduct the following from the wages of employees:

(a) Fines;

(b) Cash shortages in a common money till, cash box or register used by two (2) or more persons;

(c) Breakage;

(d) Losses due to acceptance by an employee of checks which are subsequently dishonored if such employee is given discretion to accept or reject any check; or

(e) Losses due to defective or faulty workmanship, lost or stolen property, damage to property, default of customer credit, or nonpayment for goods or services received by the customer if such losses are not attributable to employee's willful or intentional disregard of employer's interest.

337.065. Unlawful for employer to require remittance of gratuity.

(1) No employer shall require an employee to remit to the employer any gratuity, or any portion thereof, except for the purpose of withholding amounts required by federal or state law. The amount withheld from such gratuity shall not exceed the amount required by federal or state law.

(2) As used in this section "gratuity" means voluntary monetary contribution received by an employee from a guest, patron, or customer for services rendered.

(3) No employer shall require an employee to participate in a tip pool whereby the employee is required to remit to the pool any gratuity, or any portion thereof, for distribution among employees of the employer.

(4) Employees may voluntarily enter into an agreement to divide gratuities among themselves. The employer may inform the employees of the existence of a voluntary pool and the customary tipping arrangements of the employees at the establishment. Upon petition by the participants in the voluntary pool, and at his own option and expense, an employer may provide custodial services for the safekeeping of funds placed in the pool, if the account is properly identified and segregated from his other business records and open to examination by pool participants.

337.070. Employer to furnish employee with statement of wage deductions.

All employers who employ ten (10) or more and pay their employees by check or otherwise, making deductions from the salaries and wages due said employees, shall state specifically the amount for which the deductions are made, and each such employer at the time of payment of salary or wage to each employee shall furnish the employee a statement giving the amount of each deduction and the general purpose for which the deduction is made.

337.075. Lien on property of employer who violates provisions of chapter--Recording of lien.

(1) A lien may be placed on all property, both real and personal, of an employer who has been assessed civil penalties by the commissioner for violations of the wages and hours provisions of this chapter, but not before all administrative and judicial appeals have been exhausted. The lien shall be in favor of the Labor Cabinet and shall be an amount totaling the unpaid wages and penalties due, together with interest at a rate of twelve percent (12%) per annum from the date the notice of the violation is final, but not before all administrative and judicial appeals have been exhausted. The lien shall be attached to all property and rights to property owned or subsequently acquired by the employer. The commissioner or his designee shall record the lien as provided in subsection (2) of this section. The lien shall show the date on which the notice of violation was issued, the date of the violation, the name and last known address of the employer against whom the assessment was made, and the amount of unpaid wages, penalties, and interest. The lien shall be superior to the lien of any mortgage or encumbrance thereafter created and shall continue for ten (10) years from the time of the recording, unless sooner released or otherwise discharged.

(2) The lien shall be filed in any of the following offices in which the employer owns property or rights to property and any filing fees associated with filing the lien shall be waived:

(a) The office of the county clerk of the county in which the defendant employer resides.

(b) The office of the county clerk of the county in which the defendant employer has its principal place of business.

(c) The office of the county clerk of any county in which the defendant employer has property or an interest in property.

337.200. Wage payment, Contstruction work or handling of minerals; Performance bonds.

Except for employers who have been doing business in the state for five (5) consecutive years, every employer engaged in construction work, or the severance, preparation, or transportation of minerals, shall furnish on a form prescribed by the commissioner a performance bond to assure the payment of all wages due from the employer. Surety for the bond shall be an amount of money equal to the employer's gross payroll operating at full capacity for four (4) weeks. Any employee whose wages are secured by a bond may obtain payment of those wages, liquidated damages, and attorney's fees as provided by law on presentation to the commissioner of a final judgment entered by a court of competent jurisdiction. The bond may be terminated, with the approval of the commissioner, on submission of the employer's statement, lawfully administered under oath, that the employer has ceased doing business in the state and that all due wages have been paid.