Compliance Watch:

What are my rights as a salaried employee in Kansas?

A salaried employee in Kansas is any employee who receives a fixed predetermined salary at the end of every pay period regardless of the quality or quantity of their output or number of hours worked. The Kansas salaried employee laws require employers to pay their employees at least once in a calendar month. Employers should designate paydays in advance.

Salaried employees in the state receive their pay in U.S. currency through one of three methods. They can opt for paychecks, electronic deposits to their accounts, or payroll cards. Employers who offer payroll cards should ensure that employees can withdraw their pay at no cost. If an employee does not choose a payment method, an employer is free to choose any of the three methods.

Please note that this table provides a general distinction between salaried and non-exempt employees. Variations and exceptions can arise based on individual employment contracts, company policies, and specific job roles. Further, state and federal laws may change. Therefore, it’s important to consult the Kansas Department of Labor for the latest regulations.

Salaried employees in Kansas are entitled to certain rights and protections under federal and state laws. These include:

• Minimum Wage: Some salaried employees in Kansas are entitled to the minimum wage rate of $7.25 per hour for work that is either authorized by their employer or whose benefits are accepted by their employer. Certain salaried employees who are exempt from state and federal minimum wage requirements are entitled to a minimum salary threshold of $684 per week ($35,568 per year).
• Overtime Pay: Salaried employees who are eligible for overtime are entitled to overtime pay for all time worked over 46 hours in a workweek. 
• Equal Pay: Kansas guarantees equal pay for all salaried employees. Employers in the state are prohibited from paying different wages to employees who perform substantially equal work, work in the same establishment, have the same working conditions, and perform duties that require equal skill, effort, and responsibility. Employers in the state are prohibited from basing wage differentials on any other factors except a merit system, a seniority system, or the quality or quantity of work done. Essentially, Salaried employees have the right to be paid equally for equal work, regardless of gender, race, or other protected characteristics.
• Family and Medical Leave: Eligible salaried employees are at liberty to take up to 12 weeks of job-protected unpaid leave as per the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
• Protection from Discrimination: All salaried employees are protected against discrimination based on protected characteristics such as color, creed gender identity, marital status, mental disability, national origin, physical disability, race, religion, age, gender, and sexual orientation.

Yes, while some salaried employees in the state are exempt from overtime laws and overtime pay, compensation basis is just one part of the exemption criteria. Therefore, some salaried employees in the state are entitled to overtime pay at a rate of 1.5 times their regular rate for all time worked beyond 46 hours in a workweek as per the Kansas overtime laws.

No. Salaried employees in Kansas do not have the right are not entitled to rest or meal breaks. However, employers can schedule employee breaks based on private agreements with their employees. Similarly, employees in the state are not entitled to paid sick or vacation leave.

The Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA) defines flexible work arrangements as any alternatives to the traditional 40-day workweek. However, the federal law does not address flexible work arrangements. Like the FLSA, Kansas laws do not address alternative work schedules. Nevertheless, salaried employees in the state can enter private agreements to establish flexible work schedules with their employers.

Kansas defers to the FLSA’s definition of exempt employees. Exempt status in the state refers to ineligibility for overtime. Further, exempt employees are not subject to the state’s minimum wage and overtime laws.

Exempt status has the following implications for employees:

• Compensation Basis: Exempt employees receive a fixed and consistent salary regardless of the number of hours worked. This makes financial planning and budgeting easier. 
• Overtime Pay: Exempt employees are not bound by state or federal overtime laws. Therefore, they are not entitled to overtime pay for work done over 46 hours in a workweek. This could result in longer work hours without additional compensation.
• Work Responsibilities: Compared to non-exempt employees, exempt employees often have more significant job responsibilities and may have more autonomy in their roles.
• Flexibility in Work Hours: Exempt employees may request flexible work arrangements, allowing them to have autonomy over their schedules. 
• Legal Protections: Exempt employees may have more legal protections related to time off, including extended sick leave as per the FMLA. 

Exempt status has the following implications for employers in Kansas:

• Consistency of Compensation: Exempt employees earn fixed salaries. Therefore, employers can predict labor costs more accurately, which can make budgeting and financial planning easier.
• Overtime Pay: Since exempt employees are not eligible for overtime pay, employers can keep labor costs constant regardless of workload fluctuations.
• Flexibility in Work Schedules: Employers may be required to make accommodations for flexible work schedules for exempt employees. 
• Administrative Burden: Exempt employee status eliminates administrative tasks such as managing timesheets, tracking hours worked, and calculating different wages for regular and overtime hours.

To determine whether you qualify as exempt, you’ll need to consider the following criteria: 

1. Salary Basis: As per the FLSA, an exempt employee receives a predetermined and fixed salary that remains constant regardless of the quality or quantity of work performed or the number of hours worked.
2. Salary Level: An exempt employee’s salary must meet or exceed the minimum salary threshold set by the FLSA. The current salary threshold for exempt employees in Kansas is $684 per week ($35,568 per year). Please note that the salary threshold is subject to change. The U.S. Department of Labor is considering raising the minimum salary threshold to $1,059 per week ($55,068/year). Therefore, it’s crucial to consult the Kansas Department of Labor for the most current rate. 
3. Duties: To qualify as exempt, salaried employees must perform job duties that fall under specific categories as follows: 
   • Executive Employees: Executive employees who meet the salary basis and level criteria are considered exempt if they have the authority to influence hiring, promotion, and employee termination decisions and their primary duty involves managing an enterprise or one of its recognized divisions and directing the work of two or more employees regularly. 
   • Administrative Employees: Administrative employees who meet the salary basis and level criteria are considered exempt if they are required to exercise independent judgment or discretion in their work, perform non-manual or office duties, and their role involves the management of their employer’s enterprise or customers.
   • Professional Employees: Professionals such as doctors, architects, and teachers qualify as exempt if their work requires advanced knowledge in a field of science or learning that is customarily acquired through education.
   • Outside Sales Employees: Certain sales employees qualify as exempt if their primary duty involves making sales or obtaining orders away from their employer’s premises.

The minimum wage in Kansas is $7.25 per hour. Non-exempt salaried employees in the state, who are bound by minimum wage laws, are entitled to this rate of compensation or higher. Exempt employees, on the other hand, are not bound by the state’s minimum wage. Employers are required to adhere to the FLSA’s guidelines, which requires them to pay exempt salaried employees a minimum salary of $684 per week or $35,568 per year.

Eligible employees in Kansas earn overtime pay at a rate of 1.5 times the regular rate for time worked over 46 hours a week. An employee in the state cannot waive their right to receive overtime pay or accept straight time for time worked beyond 46 hours in a workweek. 

Employees of state and federal agencies in Kansas can opt for compensatory time instead of overtime pay. Eligible employees earn compensatory time at a rate of 1.5 hours of comp time for every overtime hour worked for up to 240 days in 12 months.

The Kansas Administrative Regulations allow employers to deduct wages from salaried employees in the following instances:

• An employer can make deductions that are authorized by state or federal law or courts of law. 
• Employers can make deductions to recover healthcare costs settled by the employer for which employees are not covered by employer-provided healthcare benefits.
• Deductions to correct wage overpayments resulting from employer error are permissible.
• An employer can make employee-authorized deductions such as deductions for contributions to retirement plans.
• Deduction to recover excess and unjustifiable cash expense allowances or advances made to the employee are permissible.
• Deductions for the recovery of employee welfare or pension plan overpayments are permissible.

Kansas laws prohibit employers from making any of the following deductions from their employees’ salaries:

• Deductions for cash and inventory shortages.
• Deductions for losses from premises damage and inventory breakages.
• Deductions for bad credit cards or dishonored checks issued by customers as payment for goods or services rendered. 
• Deductions for losses from burglaries, robberies, or the employee’s negligence.
• Deductions for unnecessary uniforms, tools, or equipment that are not needed for an employee to do their job effectively.

Salaried employees in Kansas have the following rights to protect them from exploitation, discrimination, and safety hazards:

• Minimum Wage: Kansas laws guarantee non-exempt employees in the state compensation of at least the minimum wage of $7.25 per week while exempt employees are guaranteed at least the federal minimum salary threshold of $684 
• Overtime Pay: Eligible employees in Kansas are entitled to overtime pay of 1.5 times their regular rate for time worked beyond 46 hours in a workweek. State employees can choose to take compensatory time of 1.5 hours for every overtime worked instead of overtime pay. 
• Protection for Minors: Kansas enforces strict child labor laws that protect minor employees from hazardous working conditions and long working hours when school is in session.
• Family and Medical Leave: Exempt employees in Kansas are entitled to up to 12 weeks of sick leave to recover from illness or take care of ill family members and up to 26 weeks of job-protected leave to take care of injured military officers in their immediate family. 
• Workplace Safety: Kansas laws require employers whose payroll exceeds $20,000 to secure workers’ compensation insurance for all employees. 
• Protection from Discrimination and Harassment: Kansas law prohibits employment discrimination based on race, religion, color, sex, disability, national origin, and ancestry.

Labor law violations in Kansas can encompass a wide range of actions including:

• Paying non-exempt employees less than the minimum wage.
• Not paying overtime to eligible employees at a rate of 1.5 times the regular rate.
• Withholding or failing to pay out earned wages
• Making prohibited deductions from employees’ salaries.
• Violating restrictions on working hours for minor employees.
• Discriminating against employees based on protected characteristics.
• Failing to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities.
• Misclassifying employees as non-exempt to avoid paying overtime or providing benefits.

You can report minimum wage, work hours, and other wage violations to the Kansas Department of Labor by filling out the Claims for Wages form. If you have experienced any form of discrimination in the workplace, you can report the violation to the Kansas Human Rights Commission by filling out the Employment Intake Questionnaire.