kansas travel pay laws

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Travel Time

Time spent traveling during normal work hours is considered compensable work time. Time spent in home-to-work travel by an employee in an employer-provided vehicle, or in activities performed by an employee that are incidental to the use of the vehicle for commuting, generally is not "hours worked" and, therefore, does not have to be paid. This provision applies only if the travel is within the normal commuting area for the employer's business and the use of the vehicle is subject to an agreement between the employer and the employee or the employee's representative.

Webpages on this Topic

Handy Reference Guide to the Fair Labor Standards Act - Answers many questions about the FLSA and gives information about certain occupations that are exempt from the Act.

Coverage Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Fact Sheet - General information about who is covered by the FLSA.

Wage and Hour Division: District Office Locations - Addresses and phone numbers for Department of Labor district Wage and Hour Division offices.

State Labor Offices/State Laws - Links to state departments of labor contacts. Individual states' laws and regulations may vary greatly. Please consult your state department of labor for this information.

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Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) & Travel Time

General rules.

A. Excluding normal commuting time, employees should be compensated for all travel unless:

• It is overnight; or
• No work is performed.

B. An employer may rearrange the work schedule within the workweek (Sunday – Saturday) to avoid additional compensation hours that may occur because of travel time or compensable commuting time as described below. Whenever possible, the employer and employee should discuss the possibility of rearranging the work schedule prior to departure.

Commute Time

Generally, an employee is not at work until he or she reaches the work site and begins working. A. If the employee is required to report to a meeting place where he or she is to pick up materials, equipment, or other employees, or to receive instructions before traveling to the work site, time is compensable only once the employee reaches the meeting place. If the employee drives a state vehicle, to and from work, he or she does not have to be compensated for that commuting time as long as:

• Driving the vehicle between home and work is strictly voluntary and not a condition of employment;
• The vehicle is a type normally used for commuting;
• The employee incurs no costs for driving the employer’s vehicle or parking it at home; and
• The work sites are within normal commuting area of the employer’s place of business.

Note: Unless there is a contract, custom or practice providing that an employee’s regular daily travel time between home and the workplace is compensable, such travel time is not compensable. If such a contract, custom or practice exists, the travel time is compensable.

Travel During the Workday

Travel as a part of the employee’s principal activity must be counted as hours worked. If the travel is for the benefit of the employer, it is compensable.

• Example: the employee travels from job site to job site during the workday.

B. If the employee runs an errand (i.e., stops at a business or at home) for his or her own convenience, the time traveling to/from that site that adds additional time is not compensable.

• Example: the employee leaves home for the work site but stops at a shop for his or her own convenience.

C. Time spent by the driver in picking up other passengers and transporting them to a specific location is work time and therefore compensable. The time the picked-up passengers spend traveling in the car is also compensable.

Out of Town Travel - Special One Day Assignment

A. If the employee is assigned to work in another city for one (1) day and the travel is performed for the employer’s benefit and at its request, it is part of the principal activity of the employee and therefore is compensable. This is true even if the employee is traveling by common carrier since this is a special assignment and is not ordinary home to work travel. The assignment is performed for the employer’s benefit and at the employer’s special request to meet the needs of the particular and unusual assignment. B. However, in this special one-day assignment, travel time between the employee’s home and the airport or railway station is considered commute time and, therefore, is compensable.

Overnight Travel

Travel that keeps an employee away from home overnight is travel away from home. Travel away from home is work time and is compensable. A. Travel time is compensable regardless of work schedule.

• Example: Employee drives to the airport to attend a seminar and has two co–workers as passengers with him/her. Whether the trip is made during normal workdays/workhours or non-normal workdays/workhours (i.e. Saturday or Sunday for an employee who works Monday through Friday) the travel time is compensable; all three employees are compensated.

B. Time spent at a motel with freedom to use time for the employee’s own purposes is not compensable.

C. Time Zone Changes – If the time zone changes during the travel day, the hours should be calculated based upon “actual” hours when calculating compensable time on travel days. A department may wish to use Central Standard Time (CST) for travel days to assist in determining work hours. Local time should be used for all other days of the travel.

• Example: Employee left Lawrence at 9:00 a.m. CST to travel to the airport and arrived at a hotel in Phoenix at Noon Pacific Standard Time (PST) (which is 2:00 CST). Actual hours of travel are 5 hours (9 am to 2:00 CST).
• Example: Employee left a hotel in San Francisco at 8 a.m. PST (which is 10:00 a.m. CST) to travel to the airport and board a return flight. Employee returns to Lawrence at 1:00 p.m. CST (11:00 p.m. PST). Actual hours of travel are 3 hours (10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. CST).

Additional Resources:

Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

University Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Policy

A. When the travel takes place inside or outside the employee’s normal workdays or work hours; the employee is required to be compensated for the travel time to the airport or hotel, regardless of whether the employee is a driver or a passenger. B. The employee is compensated for all required conference events that require the employee to engage in training, attend a meeting, or listen to a speaker. The employee is not compensated for time at social events, meals without speakers or meals when work is not being performed. C. An employer, or the employee with prior approval of the employee’s supervisor, may rearrange the employee’s work schedule within the workweek to avoid additional compensation hours. D. If the time zone changes during the travel day, you will need to count “actual” hours. To determine work hours on travel days, use the Central Standard Time (CST) Zone for both days in order to avoid disadvantaging the employee due to time changes. For non-travel days, use local time.

Travel Example 1 – No Adjustments to Schedules

For this example, the conference began Sunday night at 5:15 pm with a business meeting and ended on Wednesday at Noon. The employee worked his/her normal schedule the days following the conference. No time zone differences.

Total compensation for the day is 8.25 hours (for hours 9:40 am to 6:00 pm).

Total compensation for the day is 8 hours (for hours 8:00 am to Noon and from 12:30 pm to 4:30 pm).

Total compensation for the day is 9.5 hours (for hours 8:30 am – 6:00 pm)

Thursday (back in the office)

Total compensation for the day is 8 hours (for hours 8 am to 5 pm).

Friday (Back in office)

Total compensation for the week is 49.75 hours (i.e., 40 hours at regular time and 9.75 hours at compensatory time earned at the time and a half rate, i.e., 9.75 x 1.5 = 14.25).

Travel Example 2 - Adjusted Work Schedule

For this example, the supervisor has informed the employee that any hours incurred that may result in extra compensation will be adjusted in the remaining workweek. The supervisor has determined the employee should leave early on Thursday and not work on Friday. The conference began Sunday night at 5:15 pm with a business meeting and ended on Wednesday at Noon. No time zone differences.

Total compensation for the day is 8 hours (for hours 8:30 am to 4:30 pm).

Thursday (Back in Office)

Total compensation for the day is 6.25 hours (for hours 8 am to 3:15 pm). No leave is reported.

Friday (No work performed)

Total compensation for the day is 0 hours .

Total compensation for the week is 40.00 hours.

Travel Example 3 – Time Zone Change

Sunday (travel day, so using cst)..

For this example, the employee’s workstation is in Lawrence, Kansas (CST) and the conference is located in Oakland, CA, which is in the PST time zone (i.e., 2 hours earlier). The conference began Sunday night at 5:15 pm (PST) with a business meeting and ended on Tuesday at Noon (PST).

Actual times shown are CST [PST is shown in brackets]

Total compensation for the day is 8.25 hours (for hours 9:40 am to 6:00 pm CST).

Actual times shown are PST as “local” time.

Tuesday (Travel day, so using CST)

Total compensation for the day is 9.5 hours (for hours 10:30 am – 8:00 pm CST).

Total compensation for the 3 days (Sunday, Monday and Tuesday) is 25.75 hours.

FLSA and Travel Time Guidelines for Overtime Eligible Employees (Effective: 05/21/2017)The University of Kansas, Human Resources, Carruth-O’Leary Hall, Room 103, 1246 West Campus Road, Lawrence, KS 66045, 785-864-4946 (voice), 785-864-5790 (fax), [email protected] (email).

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Kansas Labor Laws: A Complete Guide to Wages, Breaks, Overtime, and More (2024)

• 10 min read
• Published : March 8, 2024

Joseph Iyanu

• March 8, 2024

U.S. Labor Laws

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Kansas’ labor laws are intended to help create and maintain working environments in which the interests and rights of all parties (employers and employees) are protected. However, ensuring these rights are upheld requires employers’ and employees’ active knowledge and participation.

Navigating Kansas employment laws’ intricacies is vital for fostering fair and compliant workplaces. This guide will help you unravel the complexities of the state’s laws surrounding wages, breaks, overtime, and more, with an up-to-date roadmap for employers ensuring compliance and employees looking to safeguard their rights. 

Let’s get started…

Meals and Break in Kansas

💡did you know.

78% of North American bosses say employees who take regular lunch breaks are just as (or more) hardworking than those who don’t.

Kansas has no laws regulating meal breaks or rest periods and does not mandate employers provide them. Regardless, many employers choose to provide breaks in their workplaces to encourage employee productivity.

Shorter breaks (either with meals or as non-meal rest breaks) typically last 5 to 20 minutes. Many employers consider these breaks compensable work hours, meaning employees get paid even during breaks.

Sometimes, meal and/or rest breaks may last 30 minutes or more. In this case, the break is not considered work hours, so the employer is not required to compensate employees for this type of break – assuming the break truly involves none of their work duties.

However, some employees who work during meal breaks, such as factory workers who need to keep machines running, may get paid meal breaks. A meal break that includes any aspect of an employee’s work duties should be compensated.

Leave and Paid Time Off (PTO) in Kansas

Insert content from second informational section here (delete / replace this placeholder text).

Twenty-eight million Americans don’t get any paid vacation or paid holidays.

Employers in Kansas are not obliged or mandated to pay for any time not worked for by an employee. Regardless, many employers provide paid time off for their employees. It is important to note that in many cases, public employees are not entitled to the same leave and PTO benefits as those working for private entities.

Leave and PTO in Kansas includes required leave and non-required leave types.

Required Leave in Kansas

Required leave types in Kansas are what employers must provide to their employees. These include:

Holiday Leave (Public Employees)

• New Year’s Day - 1 January
• Martin Luther King Jr. Civil Rights Day - Third Monday in January
• President's Day: Third Monday in February
• Memorial Day - Last Monday in May
• Independence Day- 4th of July
• Labor Day - First Monday in October
• Columbus Day - Second Monday in October
• Veterans Day - 11th of November
• Thanksgiving Day - Fourth Thursday in November
• Christmas Day - 25th of December.

Kansas does not require private employers to compensate employees for these holidays. However, some employers may provide paid holiday leave to attract and retain high-quality employees.

Private employers are not required to provide holiday leave benefits to their employees, and are likewise not required to pay employees any premium wage rates (overtime, etc.) for working during the holidays except if this above-normal compensation is agreed upon through mutual understanding between employer and employee.

Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Parental Leave

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is a federal law mandating the provision of unpaid leave of up to 12 workweeks within a year (or any consecutive 12-month period).

FMLA leave is offered to employees for the birth of a child, an adoption or child fostering process, or in the case of a serious health condition of the employee or an immediate family member. However, employees must have worked with their employer for 12 months or 1,250 hours to qualify for this leave.

FMLA leave can also run concurrently with Kansas’ parental leave mandate, enacted via executive order in 2021.

Kansas’ parental leave is typically a paid leave. It’s available following the birth or adoption of a child by an employee or the placement of a foster child in the employee’s care. If an employee qualifies for this leave:

• An employee acting as the child’s primary caregiver receives eight weeks of paid parental leave.
• An employee acting as a secondary caregiver receives four weeks.
• If both parents are state workers, both receive parental leave, which may be taken at the same time, consecutively, or at different times.
• Paid parental leave only becomes available for 30 days before the child’s projected due date or adoption date. It remains available for the 12 weeks immediately following the birth or adoption of a child.

Military Leave

Only 5% of employees in leisure and hospitality industries have access to paid military leave, compared to 64% of employees who work in credit information.

In Kansas, active military members (including those in the National Guard) and veterans may be eligible for military leave under the federal Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA).

Every state employee is entitled to paid military leave of 30 working days in each 12-month period (typically correlating to government fiscal years) running from October 1st through the following September 30th. Eligible employees may use their military time off for active or inactive military duty, full-time National Guard duty, weekend drills, or any other military duty. Employers must also allow eligible employees to take leave to serve in state armed forces.

Kansas employers may not discharge or discriminate against an employee for taking any type of military leave. After service, employees are entitled to return to their jobs with the same benefits and pay they would have accrued if they had not taken the leave.

Additionally, the employer must not discharge employees returning from the military without cause for the year (365 days) following their return to work.

Domestic Violence or Sexual Assault Leave

Employees who are victims of domestic violence or sexual assault are eligible to use any accrued leave. Employees may take unpaid leave for up to 8 days in a calendar year if accrued leave is unavailable. The employee can use this leave to:

• Obtain legal relief, including restraining orders
• Obtain medical treatment
• Obtain other services (domestic abuse programs or rape recovery centers)
• Make appearances in court in the aftermath of the abuse

Donor Leave

The Kansas Donor Leave Program provides state employees with paid recovery time after they choose to donate blood, blood products, bone marrow, or organs. Eligible employees may be awarded:

• Paid leave of up to 30 working days to recover from an organ or tissue donation.
• Paid leave of up to 7 working days after bone marrow transplants.
• Paid leave of 1.5 hours every 4 months for blood donations.
• Paid leave of 3 hours every 4 months for donations of blood products (platelets or other approved blood components).

Eligible employees are compensated at normal wage rates. Donor leave is only available to employees making the donations themselves, not employees who wish to care for a family member who donated.

Jury Duty Leave

Jury duty leave is available to employees summoned to serve as a juror in a court proceeding. According to state law, employers must grant eligible employees paid time off for mandatory jury duty. In some cases, leave is also offered to employees who are summoned to be witnesses before the civil service board.

Employees called as witnesses on their own behalf are not entitled to paid leave. Kansas state laws prohibit employers from punishing employees who require jury duty leave in any way.

Bereavement Leave

Bereavement leave is offered to employees to attend to the passing of their immediate family member or equally close relative. In Kansas, employees are entitled to paid bereavement leave of up to 6 working days.

Disaster Service Leave

Kansas state employees who are certified disaster service volunteers (such as volunteer firefighters) are granted paid leave of up to 20 working days in 12 months. This leave is only offered in the event of an emergency requiring extra help from these volunteers. Employees taking disaster service leave in Kansas are entitled to compensation at their regular pay rate.

Voting Leave

Employees are allowed up to two hours of leave in Kansas to carry out their voting duties. This leave is only provided if employees don’t have time to place their votes before or after their shifts. Employers may specify when an employee may be absent from work to vote, so long as it does not include the employee’s regular lunch period.

Non-Required Leave in Kansas

Some leave types Kansas employers are not required to offer employees include:

Vacation Leave

Employers in Kansas are not obligated by federal or state laws to offer vacation time, whether paid or unpaid, to their employees.

However, many employers offer paid or unpaid vacation leave as an employee benefit. Employers who offer vacation leave must abide by their employment contract terms and/or established company policies. 

The video below offers a good overview of Kansas employment contracts that may impact non-required leave (or other employment conditions):

Employers and employees may enter agreements denying employees pay for accrued vacation upon termination of employment. Employers are also allowed to cap the total amount of vacation leave an employee can accrue.

Employers in Kansas are not required to provide sick leave benefits, whether paid or unpaid. However, if they offer this benefit, they must comply with the established policies in their employee handbooks.

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Overtime regulations in kansas.

The FLSA entitles employees in Kansas to overtime pay if they work more than 40 hours per work week. Overtime pay is calculated at 1.5 times the rate of the employee’s regular average or minimum pay.

While the FLSA states overtime is any time worked after 40 hours per week (except for weekends and holidays), Kansas state laws further stipulate overtime as any hour worked past 46 hours a week. To be eligible for overtime pay in Kansas and earn 1.5 times their regular wage rate, employees in the state thus must work more than 46 hours per week.

Overtime Exceptions in Kansas

The Kansas overtime rule does not apply to every employee, and some workers don’t have to work 46 hours a week to be eligible for overtime pay.

For example, under federal law, employees engaged in commerce or producing goods for commerce shall not work more than 40 hours a week unless they receive compensation of 1.5 times their regular rate for each hour worked over 40 a week.

Other employees exempt from the 46-hour rule in Kansas include:

• Any employee engaged in selling motor vehicles for a nonmanufacturing employer.
• Any person sentenced to the custody of the secretary of corrections.
• Any person serving a sentence in a county jail.

Additionally, the FLSA completely exempts the following employees from overtime pay:

• Executive or administrative employees earning salaries of at least $684 per week.
• Highly compensated employees making more than $107,432 a year.
• Learned, creative, and computer professionals earning salary of at least $684 per week.
• Outside sales employees.

Wages and Benefits in Kansas

Kansas’ current minimum wage is $7.25, equal to the federal minimum wage.

The minimum wage for tipped employees is $2.13 per hour, but tips they receive must bring their total hourly wage up to the state minimum wage of $7.25. If the combined total doesn’t amount to the average minimum wage of $7.25, employers must make necessary payments to align the total with the average minimum wage.

Kansas has no state-specific law to address the sharing of tips. As such, employers may or may not require tip pooling.

Pay Frequency

Employers in Kansas must pay all wages due to their employees at least once per calendar month or as agreed upon by employer and employee. Some common pay frequency schedules employers in Kansas may use include:

• Weekly (52 paychecks per year).
• Biweekly (26 paychecks per year).
• Semi-monthly (24 paychecks per year).

Kansas does not have specific laws requiring employers to provide pay stubs. However, employers are advised to voluntarily include specific information on pay stubs, such as gross and net earnings, deductions, and hours worked.

Employee Benefits

Employers in Kansas are not required to provide any kind of benefits to their employees. However, many employers provide optional benefits to attract and retain employees.

Some of these benefits may include:

• Health insurance
• Retirement plans
• Non-required leave (vacation, sick leave, holidays, etc.) 

Final Paycheck

Following an employee’s separation from their job, whether due to resignation or termination, their employer must disburse their final paycheck by the next regular payday. 

Prevailing Wages in Kansas

Employees are eligible for prevailing wages if they work on government or government-funded construction projects.

Kansas does not have a state-specific prevailing wage law. However, employers may be required to pay residents wage rates established by federal prevailing wage rates under the Davis-Bacon Act and other related laws.

For more information about prevailing wages, check out these government sites:

• Davis-Bacon and Related Acts
• McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA)
• Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act (PCA).

Hiring Practices in Kansas

Kansas prioritizes fairness and non-discrimination during the hiring process. It’s illegal for employers in any industry to:

• Exclude or refuse to hire an individual based on race, religion, color, sex, national origin, ancestry, or disability.
• Refuse to list and correctly classify for employment or to refuse to refer any potential job candidate based on their race, religion, color, etc.
• Discriminate against any person of employment opportunities because of their age.
• Refuse to hire a prospective employee because of their height, except if the position is a fireman, law enforcement, or security officer, wherein minimum and/or maximum height restrictions may be necessary.
• Be biased towards relatives, friends, or neighbors during the hiring process.
• Exclude or deny equal jobs or benefits because of applicant disabilities.
• Refuse to make reasonable adjustments to adapt to applicants’ physical or mental limitations, provided those limitations don’t adversely affect the business.
• Use employment tests or other selection criteria to screen out applicants with disabilities.
• Subject prospective employees to genetic screening or testing.

Kansas follows federal laws against discrimination during the hiring process, which protect applicants based on race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religion, national origin, pregnancy, genetic information (including family medical history), physical or mental disability, child or spousal support withholding, military or veteran status, and citizenship and/or immigration status.

Immigration Verification

Kansas places no additional employment verification procedure on employers beyond federal I-9 compliance.

Drug Testing

Kansas doesn’t regulate drug testing in the private sector. However, employers wishing to conduct drug testing for job application purposes must provide a conditional job offer before requesting a drug screening.

Under the Kansas Human Rights Commission, private employers may require applicants to submit a drug test so long as:

• All employees in the same job category face the same requirements; and
• Information remains confidential except to supervisors/managers or for safety reasons.

Background Check Laws

Employers running background checks must follow requirements set out by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

Health and Safety Standards in Kansas

Kansas, like many states, strives to provide safe work environments for all employees.

Kansas’ Secretary of Labor has the right to enter any state or private office, mill, workshop, or any other place of business where labor is performed to inspect and ensure that measures concerning heating, ventilation, and sanitary arrangements are being met.

Business owners must make changes or additions identified by the secretary’s office within 60 days after receiving notice or face penalties for noncompliance.

Federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations apply in Kansas. OSHA sets safety and health standards that prevent work-related injuries and fatalities caused by hazards such as:

• Biological hazards (mold, pests, insects, etc.)
• Chemical and dust hazards (pesticides, asbestos, etc.)
• Work organization hazards (stress-inducing things)
• Safety hazards (slip, trip, or fall risks, etc.)
• Physical hazards (noise, radiation, temperature extremes, etc.)
• Ergonomic hazards (repetition, lifting, awkward postures, etc.)

Employees in Kansas have the right to report unsafe working conditions and file complaints with OSHA if they believe their workplace violates safety standards. Complaints can be submitted online, by mail, fax, or via phone.

Child Labor Laws in Kansas

In Kansas, child labor laws protect minors (individuals under the age of 18) from exploitation by employers and from physical, moral, or emotional hazards.

Children under 14 cannot be employed in Kansas, with some exemptions:

• Employment by parents in nonhazardous occupations.
• Employment in domestic service or casual labor in or around a private home.
• Employment delivering newspapers or performing messenger duties.
• Employment in agricultural, horticultural, livestock, or dairy establishments.
• Employment as actors, actresses, or performers in movies, theaters, radio or TV.

Regardless of exemptions, children under 14 in Kansas are generally not allowed to perform any of the services listed above when school is in session.

16-year-olds can be employed to do most work (except in hazardous jobs), but they need a work permit. However, the permit is only required for children not enrolled in or attending secondary school.

The FLSA restricts c hildren under 16 to work between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., except from June 1 through Labor Day, when evening hours are extended to 9 p.m. For older children, work hours are between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. when school is in session.

Children under 16 can work up to three (3) hours on a school day, 18 hours on a school week, 8 hours on a non-school day, and 40 hours on a non-school week in Kansas. Non-covered children under 16 may not work more than eight (8) hours in one day, nor more than 40 hours in one week.

Under Kansas law, children under 16 employed in hotels, restaurants, mercantile establishments, or in transmitting merchandise or messages may work from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Prohibited Occupations for Minors

In Kansas, no child under 18 can be employed in any occupation, trade, or business that presents any physical, moral, or emotional hazard. These include:

• Manufacturing or storing explosives (minors may work in retail stores selling ammunition, in gun shops, in trap and skeet ranges, and in police stations).
• Operating motor vehicles on public roads.
• Coal mining.
• Operating power-driven woodworking machines.
• Wrecking, demolition, and ship-breaking operations.

Minors whose parents own a business or farm are exempt from these regulations, except if the business is involved in mining, manufacturing, and other particularly dangerous occupations, which restricts the minimum age of employees to 18.

Posting Requirements for Employers Employing Minors

Employers or business owners looking to employ minors under 16 must keep a notice in a conspicuous place stating the maximum number of hours minors are allowed to work.

Breaks for Minors in Kansas

Kansas doesn’t regulate or dictate meal periods for minor employees – employers can schedule minor employees’ meal breaks.

Employee Termination and Resignation in Kansas

Kansas is an at-will employment state. Employees can resign at any time without reason, without the fear of penalty. Similarly, employers can terminate employees at any time and for any reason, so long as the reason is not discriminatory or retaliatory.

Right to Work Law in Kansas

Kansas is a right-to-work state, which means that employees are free to decide whether to join a labor union – employees cannot be forced to join a labor union as a condition of their employment.

Kansas has some variations in its right-to-work statutes for schools and state agencies:

Right-to-Work in Kansas Schools

In Kansas, no board of education nor administrative employee who has the authority to hire, transfer, or lay off other employees is allowed to:

• Discriminate while hiring based on membership or nonmembership in any professional employee organization.
• Interfere with, restrain, or force professional employees to join, form, or assist professional employees’ organizations.

Employees employed by boards of education in professional, educational or instructional capacities are allowed to:

• Form, join, or assist professional employees’ organizations in establishing, maintaining, protecting, or improving the terms and conditions of professional service.
• Refrain from any of the foregoing activities.

Right-to-Work at State Departments

Public employees employed by a public agency, except for those employed by school districts, have the right to:

• Participate, join, or form organizations to meet and exchange opinions with public employers.
• Choose to refrain from any of the foregoing activities.

Similarly, public employers and their representatives are not permitted to:

• Force public employees to form, join, or participate in employee organizations.
• Encourage or discourage membership in any employee organization, committee, association, or similar organization.
• Discriminate during hiring due to membership in such organizations.

Severance Pay

Kansas labor laws do not require employers to provide employees with severance pay on termination. However, if an employer does provide severance pay, it must comply with the terms of established policies or employment contracts.

Termination Notice Requirement

Kansas does not dictate notice periods for employment termination. However, if an employment contract is in place, employers and employees should adhere to the stated notice requirements specified in the contract. Failure to do so might incur legal consequences.

Unemployment Benefits in Kansas

Kansas provides benefits to eligible unemployed persons to support them while searching for a new job. Unemployment benefits are available for up to 16 weeks, with nothing deducted from the employee’s previous wages to pay for the coverage. 

Individuals seeking unemployment benefits must meet certain eligibility requirements:

• Must have been paid wages from insured employment for at least two quarters.
• Must have earned total wages at least 30x greater than their weekly benefit amount.
• Must be either totally or partially unemployed (through no fault of their own).

Unemployment benefits are administered by the Kansas Department of Labor.

Penalties for Noncompliance in Kansas

Penalties for noncompliance in Kansas range from fines to civil lawsuits. The specific fines can vary depending on the nature and severity of the violation.

For example, not fully complying with wage and hour laws often forces employers to pay back wages and damages to affected employees. Businesses or professionals in specific industries may even face license revocation or suspension for noncompliance with labor laws.

Other Essential Information About Labor Laws in Kansas

Other important laws employers and employees in Kansas should be aware of include:

The federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation (COBRA) Act allows employees to access health coverage after a job loss in Kansas (and in other U.S. states as well). This health insurance program allows employees and their dependents to stay on their health plans in the event of voluntary or involuntary job loss for anywhere from 18 to 36 months. However, COBRA only covers businesses with 20 or more employees.

Recordkeeping Laws

Employers must make and keep records of each employee for up to 3 years. These records should be kept in or around the employer’s premises.

These employee records should contain:

• Rate of pay
• Amount paid on each paid period
• Hours worked each day and week

Employers covered by FLSA must also keep and maintain the following records:

• Name, address, birthday (if younger than 19), and gender
• Exact time and day when work week begins
• Basis for which wages are paid
• Hourly pay rate
• Total overtime earnings
• Additions or deductions from wages
• Total wages paid each pay period
• Date of payment and pay period

Navigating Labor Laws in Kansas

Understanding and complying with Kansas labor laws is crucial to fostering fair, equitable, and legally sound workplaces.

This comprehensive guide can serve as a roadmap to help you navigate employment regulations in Kansas, promote compliance, and ultimately cultivate positive workplace environments. However, retaining qualified legal professionals is worthwhile and encouraged, as no online guide can comprehensively cover all aspects of a state’s labor laws.

For many businesses, great software is the only real solution to labor law compliance challenges. The right business management software tends to come with built-in compliance and recordkeeping rules, regardless of your industry, how many employees you have, what they do, or how widely they’re dispersed across the state (or country).

If you operate a construction or field services company, we humbly suggest trying Workyard for your compliance needs.

Workyard is built around the industry’s most accurate GPS tracking and geofencing technology , which ensures payroll accuracy across your workforce, no matter which job site you send them to or when you need them to work there. Workyard’s timesheet tracking system also comes with built-in federal and state overtime rules, as well as adjustable break rules you can customize at the employee level.

Workyard’s intuitive scheduling dashboard makes it easy to direct your workforce to the jobs you need to be done, based on their skill sets, their locations, their availability, and (of course) their weekly time worked – so you can avoid unnecessary overtime payments and reduce reimbursable travel expenses.

All of these tools work together to save you money. Minimize payroll waste, ensure regulatory compliance without lifting a finger, accurately assess project costs in real-time, and pay your team with ease thanks to seamless payroll processing integrations.

Best of all, you can try it free for 14 days, so you can be sure it’s the right solution for your company. Just click here (or the buttons below) to get started today !

Did you find this post helpful? Please rate it!

Forbes “ New Study Shows Correlation Between Employee Engagement And The Long-Lost Lunch Break ”, Accessed December 7, 2023

Forbes “ Average PTO In The US & Other PTO Statistics (2023) ”, Accessed December 7, 2023

Reserve National Guard “ Should civilian and private employers provide paid military leave? ” Accessed December 7, 2023

U.S. Department Of Labor “Davis-Bacon and Related Acts ”, Accessed December 7, 2023

U.S. Department Of Labor “ McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act (SCA) ”, Accessed December 7, 2023

U.S. Department Of Labor “ Walsh-Healey Public Contracts Act (PCA) ”, Accessed December 7, 2023

Federal Trade Commission “ Fair Credit Reporting Act ”, Accessed December 7, 2023

Kansas Legislature “ 2014 Statute ”, Accessed December 7, 2023

KANSAS OFFICE of REVISOR of STATUTES “ Recordkeeping Requirements ”, Accessed December, 2023

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Kansas Becomes Fourth State to Regulate Earned Wage Access

By Emmanuel Elone

Kansas has joined Missouri, Nevada, and Wisconsin in regulating earned wage access services, under a bill that will go into effect on July 1.

Earned wage access services allow consumers to access proceeds, or their earned but unpaid income, before their regularly scheduled payday, under HB 2560 . The bill defines consumers as Kansas residents, which may be based on the mailing address they use when signing up for earned wage access services.

Gov. Laura Kelly (D) signed HB 2560 into law on April 19.

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Providers must generally register with the Kansas Office of the State Bank Commissioner before ...

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17 states challenge federal rules entitling workers to accommodations for abortion

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Republican attorneys general from 17 states filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging new  federal rules  entitling workers to time off and other accommodations for abortions, calling the rules an illegal interpretation of a 2022 federal law.

The lawsuit led by Tennessee and Arkansas comes since finalized federal regulations were published April 15 to provide  guidance for employers and workers  on how to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act. The language means workers can ask for time off to obtain an abortion and recover from the procedure.

The rules, which the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission adopted on a 3-2 vote along party lines, will go into effect June 18. The lawsuit filed in federal court in Arkansas argues the regulations go beyond the scope of the 2022 law that passed with bipartisan support.

“This is yet another attempt by the Biden administration to force through administrative fiat what it cannot get passed through Congress,” Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said in a statement. “Under this radical interpretation of the PWFA, business owners will face federal lawsuits if they don’t accommodate employees’ abortions, even if those abortions are illegal under state law.”

An EEOC spokesperson referred questions to the Justice Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A Better Balance, one of the most vocal advocates for the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, called the lawsuit a baseless attack on the law’s protections.

“This lawsuit represents a bad faith effort to politicize what is a vital protection for the health and economic security of millions of families, and a continuation of the alarming attacks on women’s health and reproductive choice,” Dina Bakst, the group’s co-president, said in a statement. “We are committed to fighting to defend workers’ rights under the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act.”

The EEOC has said the new law does not obligate employers or employer-sponsored health plans to cover abortion-related costs, and that the type of accommodation that most likely will be sought under the  Pregnant Workers Fairness Act  regarding an abortion is time off to attend a medical appointment or for recovery, which does not have to be paid.

The other states joining the lawsuit are Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah and West Virginia.

This story has been updated to correct that the rules were published Monday, April 15, not this past Monday. Links photo.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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Automatic Refunds and No More Hidden Fees: D.O.T. Sets New Rules for Airlines

The Transportation Department issued new requirements on refunds when flights are canceled or delayed and on revealing “junk” fees before booking. Here’s what passengers can expect.

By Christine Chung

The Transportation Department on Wednesday announced new rules taking aim at two of the most difficult and annoying issues in air travel: obtaining refunds and encountering surprise fees late in the booking process.

“Passengers deserve to know upfront what costs they are facing and should get their money back when an airline owes them — without having to ask,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a statement, adding that the changes would not only save passengers “time and money,” but also prevent headaches.

The department’s new rules, Mr. Buttigieg said, will hold airlines to clear and consistent standards when they cancel, delay or substantially change flights, and require automatic refunds to be issued within weeks. They will also require them to reveal all fees before a ticket is purchased.

Airlines for America , a trade group representing the country’s largest air carriers, said in a statement that its airlines “abide by and frequently exceed” D.O.T. consumer protection regulations.

Passenger advocates welcomed the new steps.

Tomasz Pawliszyn, the chief executive of AirHelp, a Berlin-based company that assists passengers with airline claims, called it a “massive step forward and huge improvement in consumer rights and protection” that brings the United States closer to global standards in passenger rights.

Here’s what we know about the D.O.T.’s new rules, which will begin to go into effect in October.

There’s now one definition for a “significant” delay.

Until now, airlines have been allowed to set their own definition for a “significant” delay and compensation has varied by carrier . Now, according to the D.O.T., there will be one standard: when departure or arrival is delayed by three hours for domestic flights and six hours for international flights.

Passengers will get prompt refunds for cancellations or significant changes for flights and delayed bags, for any reason.

When things go wrong, getting compensation from an airline has often required establishing a cumbersome paper trail or spending untold hours on the phone. Under the new rules, refunds will be automatic, without passengers having to request them. Refunds will be made in full, excepting the value of any transportation already used. Airlines and ticket agents must provide refunds in the original form of payment, whether by cash, credit card or airline miles. Refunds are due within seven days for credit card purchases and within 20 days for other payments.

Passengers with other flight disruptions, such as being downgraded to a lower service class, are also entitled to refunds.

The list of significant changes for which passengers can get their money back also includes: departure or arrival from an airport different from the one booked; connections at different airports or flights on planes that are less accessible to a person with a disability; an increase in the number of scheduled connections. Also, passengers who pay for services like Wi-Fi or seat selection that are then unavailable will be refunded any fees.

Airlines must give travel vouchers or credits to ticketed passengers unable to fly because of government restrictions or a doctor’s orders.

The vouchers or credits will be transferable and can be used for at least five years after the date they were issued.

Fees for checked baggage and modifying a reservation must be disclosed upfront.

Airlines and ticket agents are now required to display any extra fees for things like checking bags or seat selection clearly and individually before a ticket purchase. They will also need to outline the airline’s policies on baggage, cancellations and changing flights before a customer purchases a ticket.

The rules, which apply to all flights on domestic airlines and flights to and from the United States operated by foreign airlines, have varying start dates.

For example, automatic refunds must be instituted by the airlines within six months. But carriers have a year before they’re required to issue travel vouchers and credits for passengers advised by a medical professional not to fly.

Follow New York Times Travel on Instagram and sign up for our weekly Travel Dispatch newsletter to get expert tips on traveling smarter and inspiration for your next vacation. Dreaming up a future getaway or just armchair traveling? Check out our 52 Places to Go in 2024 .

Christine Chung is a Times reporter covering airlines and consumer travel. More about Christine Chung

Open Up Your World

Considering a trip, or just some armchair traveling here are some ideas..

52 Places:  Why do we travel? For food, culture, adventure, natural beauty? Our 2024 list has all those elements, and more .

Mumbai:  Spend 36 hours in this fast-changing Indian city  by exploring ancient caves, catching a concert in a former textile mill and feasting on mangoes.

Kyoto:  The Japanese city’s dry gardens offer spots for quiet contemplation  in an increasingly overtouristed destination.

Iceland:  The country markets itself as a destination to see the northern lights. But they can be elusive, as one writer recently found .

Texas:  Canoeing the Rio Grande near Big Bend National Park can be magical. But as the river dries, it’s getting harder to find where a boat will actually float .

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Biden-Harris Administration Announces Final Rule Requiring Automatic Refunds of Airline Tickets and Ancillary Service Fees

Rule makes it easy to get money back for cancelled or significantly changed flights, significantly delayed checked bags, and additional services not provided  

WASHINGTON – The Biden-Harris Administration today announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has issued a final rule that requires airlines to promptly provide passengers with automatic cash refunds when owed. The new rule makes it easy for passengers to obtain refunds when airlines cancel or significantly change their flights, significantly delay their checked bags, or fail to provide the extra services they purchased.

“Passengers deserve to get their money back when an airline owes them - without headaches or haggling,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg . “Our new rule sets a new standard to require airlines to promptly provide cash refunds to their passengers.”  

The final rule creates certainty for consumers by defining the specific circumstances in which airlines must provide refunds. Prior to this rule, airlines were permitted to set their own standards for what kind of flight changes warranted a refund. As a result, refund policies differed from airline to airline, which made it difficult for passengers to know or assert their refund rights. DOT also received complaints of some airlines revising and applying less consumer-friendly refund policies during spikes in flight cancellations and changes. 

Under the rule, passengers are entitled to a refund for:

• Canceled or significantly changed flights: Passengers will be entitled to a refund if their flight is canceled or significantly changed, and they do not accept alternative transportation or travel credits offered. For the first time, the rule defines “significant change.” Significant changes to a flight include departure or arrival times that are more than 3 hours domestically and 6 hours internationally; departures or arrivals from a different airport; increases in the number of connections; instances where passengers are downgraded to a lower class of service; or connections at different airports or flights on different planes that are less accessible or accommodating to a person with a disability.  
• Significantly delayed baggage return: Passengers who file a mishandled baggage report will be entitled to a refund of their checked bag fee if it is not delivered within 12 hours of their domestic flight arriving at the gate, or 15-30 hours of their international flight arriving at the gate, depending on the length of the flight.  
• Extra services not provided: Passengers will be entitled to a refund for the fee they paid for an extra service — such as Wi-Fi, seat selection, or inflight entertainment — if an airline fails to provide this service.

DOT’s final rule also makes it simple and straightforward for passengers to receive the money they are owed. Without this rule, consumers have to navigate a patchwork of cumbersome processes to request and receive a refund — searching through airline websites to figure out how make the request, filling out extra “digital paperwork,” or at times waiting for hours on the phone. In addition, passengers would receive a travel credit or voucher by default from some airlines instead of getting their money back, so they could not use their refund to rebook on another airline when their flight was changed or cancelled without navigating a cumbersome request process.  

The final rule improves the passenger experience by requiring refunds to be:

• Automatic: Airlines must automatically issue refunds without passengers having to explicitly request them or jump through hoops.   
• Prompt: Airlines and ticket agents must issue refunds within seven business days of refunds becoming due for credit card purchases and 20 calendar days for other payment methods.  
• Cash or original form of payment: Airlines and ticket agents must provide refunds in cash or whatever original payment method the individual used to make the purchase, such as credit card or airline miles. Airlines may not substitute vouchers, travel credits, or other forms of compensation unless the passenger affirmatively chooses to accept alternative compensation.    
• Full amount: Airlines and ticket agents must provide full refunds of the ticket purchase price, minus the value of any portion of transportation already used. The refunds must include all government-imposed taxes and fees and airline-imposed fees, regardless of whether the taxes or fees are refundable to airlines.

The final rule also requires airlines to provide prompt notifications to consumers affected by a cancelled or significantly changed flight of their right to a refund of the ticket and extra service fees, as well as any related policies.

In addition, in instances where consumers are restricted by a government or advised by a medical professional not to travel to, from, or within the United States due to a serious communicable disease, the final rule requires that airlines must provide travel credits or vouchers. Consumers may be required to provide documentary evidence to support their request. Travel vouchers or credits provided by airlines must be transferrable and valid for at least five years from the date of issuance.

The Department received a significant number of complaints against airlines and ticket agents for refusing to provide a refund or for delaying processing of refunds during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. At the height of the pandemic in 2020, refund complaints peaked at 87 percent of all air travel service complaints received by DOT. Refund problems continue to make up a substantial share of the complaints that DOT receives.

DOT’s Historic Record of Consumer Protection Under the Biden-Harris Administration

Under the Biden-Harris Administration and Secretary Buttigieg, DOT has advanced the largest expansion of airline passenger rights, issued the biggest fines against airlines for failing consumers, and returned more money to passengers in refunds and reimbursements than ever before in the Department’s history.

• Thanks to pressure from Secretary Buttigieg and DOT’s flightrights.gov dashboard, all 10 major U.S. airlines guarantee free rebooking and meals, and nine guarantee hotel accommodations when an airline issue causes a significant delay or cancellation. These are new commitments the airlines added to their customer service plans that DOT can legally ensure they adhere to and are displayed on flightrights.gov .  
• Since President Biden took office, DOT has helped return more than $3 billion in refunds and reimbursements owed to airline passengers – including over $600 million to passengers affected by the Southwest Airlines holiday meltdown in 2022.   
• Under Secretary Buttigieg, DOT has issued over $164 million in penalties against airlines for consumer protection violations. Between 1996 and 2020, DOT collectively issued less than $71 million in penalties against airlines for consumer protection violations.  
• DOT recently launched a new partnership with a bipartisan group of state attorneys general to fast-track the review of consumer complaints, hold airlines accountable, and protect the rights of the traveling public.  
• In 2023, the flight cancellation rate in the U.S. was a record low at under 1.2% — the lowest rate of flight cancellations in over 10 years despite a record amount of air travel.  
• DOT is undertaking its first ever industry-wide review of airline privacy practices and its first review of airline loyalty programs.

In addition to finalizing the rules to require automatic refunds and protect against surprise fees, DOT is also pursuing rulemakings that would:

• Propose to ban family seating junk fees and guarantee that parents can sit with their children for no extra charge when they fly. Before President Biden and Secretary Buttigieg pressed airlines last year, no airline committed to guaranteeing fee-free family seating. Now, four airlines guarantee fee-free family seating, and the Department is working on its family seating junk fee ban proposal.  
• Propose to make passenger compensation and amenities mandatory so that travelers are taken care of when airlines cause flight delays or cancellations.   
• Expand the rights for passengers who use wheelchairs and ensure that they can travel safely and with dignity . The comment period on this proposed rule closes on May 13, 2024.

The final rule on refunds can be found at https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/latest-news and at regulations.gov , docket number DOT-OST-2022-0089. There are different implementation periods in this final rule ranging from six months for airlines to provide automatic refunds when owed to 12 months for airlines to provide transferable travel vouchers or credits when consumers are unable to travel for reasons related to a serious communicable disease. 

Information about airline passenger rights, as well as DOT’s rules, guidance and orders, can be found at   https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer .