Kentucky Paid Leave Laws: Sick Leave, Family Leave & FMLA (2026)

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), administered by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, is the primary family and medical leave protection available to Kentucky employees. Because Kentucky does not operate a state paid family leave program, the FMLA represents the dominant leave entitlement for most private-sector workers in the Commonwealth. Understanding FMLA coverage, eligibility, qualifying reasons, and interaction with employer-provided benefits is essential for both employees and employers operating in Kentucky. Kentucky employment law practitioners refer those with specific compliance questions to 29 CFR Part 825, the FMLA implementing regulations published at https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-C/part-825, and the DOL’s FMLA page at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla.

FMLA Coverage and Eligibility in Kentucky

FMLA applies to the following covered employers in Kentucky:

• All private-sector employers that employ 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius of the employee’s worksite for at least 20 calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year
• All public agencies — including state, county, and municipal employers — regardless of size
• All public and private elementary and secondary schools, regardless of employee count

(https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla)

To be eligible for FMLA leave, an employee must satisfy three conditions:

1. Have worked for the covered employer for at least 12 months (the 12 months need not be consecutive)
2. Have worked at least 1,250 hours during the 12-month period immediately preceding the leave start date
3. Work at a location where the employer employs 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius

(https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla)

Upon meeting these thresholds, eligible employees are entitled to up to 12 workweeks of FMLA leave in a 12-month period. The 12-month period may be calculated on a calendar-year basis, a fixed 12-month period, or a rolling 12-month period measured backward from the date leave is used — the employer selects the method and must apply it consistently. For military caregiver leave, eligible employees may take up to 26 workweeks in a single 12-month period. (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-C/part-825)

Qualifying Reasons Under FMLA in Kentucky

FMLA leave is available for the following qualifying reasons, each subject to the eligibility requirements above:

Serious health condition of the employee: An employee’s own serious health condition that renders the employee unable to perform essential job functions. A serious health condition includes conditions requiring inpatient care or continuing treatment by a health care provider, chronic conditions requiring periodic treatment, and permanent or long-term conditions under the supervision of a health care provider. (29 CFR § 825.113 — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-C/part-825/subpart-B/section-825.113)

Care for a family member with a serious health condition: An employee may take FMLA leave to care for a spouse, child, or parent with a serious health condition. The definition of “child” includes biological, adopted, foster, step, and legal ward children under 18, or older children who are incapable of self-care due to a mental or physical disability. “Parent” includes biological parents and those who stood in loco parentis but does not include parents-in-law. (https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla)

Birth and bonding with a newborn: An employee may take up to 12 weeks of FMLA leave following the birth of a child for bonding purposes. Bonding leave must be completed within 12 months of the child’s birth. Both parents — if both are eligible employees — may each take 12 weeks, though spouses employed by the same employer may be limited in certain circumstances. (https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla)

Adoption or foster care placement: FMLA covers leave for the placement of a child with the employee for adoption or foster care, including time required to arrange or attend adoption or foster care proceedings. Leave must be taken within 12 months of the child’s placement. (https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla)

Qualifying military exigency: An eligible employee whose spouse, child, or parent is a military member on covered active duty or called to covered active duty may take FMLA leave for qualifying exigencies — including short-notice deployment, military events, childcare arrangements, financial and legal matters, and post-deployment activities. (29 CFR § 825.126 — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-C/part-825/subpart-B/section-825.126)

Military caregiver leave: An eligible employee who is a spouse, child, parent, or next of kin of a covered servicemember with a serious injury or illness may take up to 26 workweeks in a single 12-month period. This entitlement is separate from and in addition to the standard 12-week entitlement. (https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla)

Is FMLA Paid or Unpaid in Kentucky?

FMLA leave is unpaid. The FMLA does not require employers to pay wages during leave — it requires only that qualifying leave be job-protected and that group health insurance continue under the same terms as if the employee had remained actively at work. (https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla)

Kentucky does not have a state paid family and medical leave program that could run concurrently with FMLA to provide wage replacement. As a result, employees on FMLA leave in Kentucky receive no state benefit payment during their absence. Employees may, however, choose — or be required by employer policy — to substitute accrued paid leave (such as vacation, PTO, or employer-provided sick time) for unpaid FMLA leave. When paid leave is substituted, the leave runs concurrently with FMLA and counts against the 12-week entitlement. (29 CFR § 825.207 — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-C/part-825/subpart-C/section-825.207)

Employers in Kentucky that have elected to offer voluntary Family Leave Insurance coverage under House Bill 179 (2024) may provide partial wage replacement during qualifying leave events, depending on the terms of the policy in place. (https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/24RS/hb179.html)

Does FMLA Apply to Small Businesses in Kentucky?

FMLA does not apply to private employers with fewer than 50 employees within a 75-mile radius of the employee’s worksite. (https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla) Kentucky has not enacted a state family and medical leave law with a lower employer-size threshold applicable to private-sector workers. Employees of private small businesses in Kentucky who do not qualify for FMLA have no state-law entitlement to job-protected family or medical leave beyond what their employer voluntarily provides.

However, all public agencies — including state and local government employers — are covered by the FMLA regardless of the number of employees. Kentucky state employees are also covered by state personnel regulations administered by the Personnel Cabinet that mirror FMLA eligibility requirements and in some areas provide additional benefits, such as the Employer Paid Leave (EPL) benefit referenced in Section 3B. (https://extranet.personnel.ky.gov/Pages/FMLA.aspx)

Employees of small businesses who are not covered by FMLA may still have rights under the Kentucky Pregnant Workers Act (KRS 344.040), which requires employers with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions. (https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=49405) While this is not a leave statute, accommodations may include temporary modifications to duties, schedules, or conditions that functionally provide some relief during pregnancy. Related wage and hour protections for Kentucky employees are also documented on the Kentucky minimum wage page.

Employee Rights and Employer Obligations Under FMLA

Employers covered by the FMLA must provide eligible employees with specific notices, including:

• A general notice of FMLA rights, which must be posted in the workplace and included in employee handbooks or onboarding materials. The DOL provides a mandatory FMLA poster at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla/poster.
• An eligibility notice within five business days of the employee’s request for leave or the employer’s awareness that leave may be FMLA-qualifying
• A rights and responsibilities notice that accompanies the eligibility notice
• A designation notice confirming whether the leave is designated as FMLA-qualifying within five business days of receiving sufficient information

(29 CFR § 825.300 — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-C/part-825/subpart-D/section-825.300)

Employers may require employees to provide certification of a serious health condition from a health care provider within 15 calendar days of the request. Employers may also require recertification and fitness-for-duty certifications before reinstatement. (https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla)

Upon return from FMLA leave, eligible employees are entitled to reinstatement to the same position or an equivalent position with equivalent pay, benefits, and other terms and conditions of employment. Group health insurance must be maintained during FMLA leave on the same basis as it would have been had the employee remained continuously employed. (29 CFR § 825.214 — https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-29/subtitle-B/chapter-V/subchapter-C/part-825/subpart-C/section-825.214)

FMLA leave may be taken intermittently — in separate blocks of time or on a reduced leave schedule — when medically necessary for a serious health condition or for planned medical treatment. For bonding leave following birth or placement, intermittent leave requires employer agreement. (https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fmla)

Retaliation against employees for exercising or attempting to exercise FMLA rights is prohibited. Interference with, restraint of, or denial of FMLA rights also constitutes a violation of the Act. (29 U.S.C. § 2615)