Kentucky break, overtime and sick leave rules

Meal and rest breaks, overtime and paid sick leave in Kentucky, in plain words. Last reviewed October 31, 2026. Not legal advice.

The rules in Kentucky#

Meal breaks: A reasonable off‑duty meal period, ordinarily 30 minutes, between the 3rd and 5th hour of work. Not counted as time worked (unpaid). Coffee and snack breaks do not count toward it.
Rest breaks: A paid 10‑minute rest period during each 4‑hour work period, in addition to the meal period.
Overtime: 1.5 times the regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek. Seventh‑day rule: employees who work all seven days of a workweek get 1.5 times pay for hours on the seventh day (does not apply when the employee is not permitted to work over 40 hours that week). No daily overtime or double time.
Paid sick leave: No statewide paid sick leave law.

Oh! Thyme has a Kentucky rule set, turned on for your company at setup. On every shift it checks:

Overtime after 40 hours in a workweek
The seventh consecutive day of the workweek
A 20‑minute meal break that starts by the end of hour 5
A paid 10‑minute rest break for every 4 hours worked
Sick leave balances build from approved hours at the rate set for each person, such as 1 hour per 30 worked, stop at their cap, and come down when time off is approved.

A day that breaks a rule is flagged for the approver before the hours go to payroll.

Not checked in Kentucky: