Kansas Minimum Wage 2026: $7.25 an Hour and Who the State Act Covers

(a) Except as otherwise provided in the minimum wage and maximum hours law, every employer shall pay to each employee wages at a rate as follows: (1) Prior to January 1, 2010, employee wages shall be paid at a rate of not less than $2.65 an hour; and (2) on and after January 1, 2010, employee wages shall be paid at a rate of not less than $7.25 an hour. (b) In calculating such minimum wage rate, an employer may include tips and gratuities received by an employee if such tips and gratuities have customarily constituted part of the remuneration of the employee and if the employee concerned actually received and retained such tips and gratuities. For employees receiving tips and gratuities, the employer shall pay a minimum wage of at least $2.13 an hour.

Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-29 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at ksrevisor.gov

Also relied on in: Kansas Final Paycheck Laws: Deadline, Penalty, PTO Rules

As used in K.S.A. 44-1201 to 44-1213, inclusive, and amendments thereto, unless the context otherwise requires: (a) "Secretary" means the secretary of labor. (b) "Wage" means compensation due to an employee by reason of the employee's employment, payable in legal tender of the United States or checks on banks convertible into cash on demand at full face value, subject to such allowances as may be permitted by regulations of the secretary under K.S.A. 44-1207, and amendments thereto. (c) "Employ" means to suffer or permit to work. (d) "Employer" means any individual, partnership, association, corporation, business trust or any person or group of persons acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an employee, but shall not include any employer who is subject to the provisions of the fair labor standards act of 1938 (29 U.S.C.A. § 201 et seq.) and any other acts amendatory thereof or supplemental thereto.

Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-29 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at ksrevisor.gov

(a) On and after January 1, 1978, any employer who pays an employee less than the wages and overtime compensation to which such employee is entitled, under or by virtue of K.S.A. 44-1201 to 44-1213, inclusive, shall be liable to such employee affected for the full amount of such wages and overtime compensation, less any amount actually paid to such employee by the employer, and for costs and such reasonable attorney fees as may be allowed by the court in an action for the recovery of such wages and overtime compensation. Any agreement between such employee and the employer to work for less than the applicable wage rate shall be no defense to such action. Such action may be maintained in any court of competent jurisdiction by any one or more employees for and in behalf of such employee or employees.

Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-29 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at ksrevisor.gov

(a) On and after January 1, 1978, any employer who is convicted of violating any provisions of K.S.A. 44-1201 to 44-1213, inclusive, or falsifying any record pertaining thereto shall be fined not less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000). (b) On and after January 1, 1978, any employer who discharges or in any other manner discriminates against any employee because such employee has made any complaint to his or her employer or the secretary, or to the authorized representative of the secretary, that he or she has not been paid wages in accordance with K.S.A. 44-1201 to 44-1213, inclusive, or rules or regulations issued thereunder, or because such employee has caused to be instituted, or is about to cause to be instituted, any proceeding under or related to K.S.A. 44-1201 to 44-1213, inclusive, or because such employee has testified or is about to testify in any such proceeding, shall be deemed in violation of K.S.A. 44-1201 to 44-1213, inclusive, and, upon conviction therefor, shall be fined not less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).

Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-29 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at ksrevisor.gov

Only upon receipt of a written complaint from an employee who alleges to have been aggrieved under the provisions of this act on or after January 1, 1978, shall the secretary or the authorized representative of the secretary have authority to enter and inspect any place of business or employment in this state. Such authority shall include the power to examine and inspect all books, registers, payrolls and other records that in any way relate to wages and hours of employees; to copy any such books, registers, payrolls and other records as the secretary or the authorized representative of the secretary may deem necessary or appropriate; and to question employees.

Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-29 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at ksrevisor.gov

(a) On and after January 1, 1978, no employer shall employ any employee for a workweek longer than 46 hours, unless such employee receives compensation for employment in excess of 46 hours in a workweek at a rate of not less than 11/2 times the hourly wage rate at which such employee is regularly employed. (b) No employer shall be deemed to have violated subsection (a) with respect to the employment of any employee who is covered by this section, who is engaged in the public or private delivery of emergency medical services as an emergency medical service provider as defined by K.S.A.

Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-29 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at ksrevisor.gov

On and after January 1, 1978, K.S.A. 44-1201 to 44-1213, inclusive, shall be known and may be cited as "the minimum wage and maximum hours law."

Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-29 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at ksrevisor.gov

As used in this chapter— “Person” means an individual, partnership, association, corporation, business trust, legal representative, or any organized group of persons. “Commerce” means trade, commerce, transportation, transmission, or communication among the several States or between any State and any place outside thereof. “State” means any State of the United States or the District of Columbia or any Territory or possession of the United States. “Employer” includes any person acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an employee and includes a public agency, but does not include any labor organization (other than when acting as an employer) or anyone acting in the capacity of officer or agent of such labor organization. Except as provided in paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), the term “employee” means any individual employed by an employer.

Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-28 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at uscode.house.gov

Also relied on in: Federal Minimum Wage 2026: $7.25 an Hour Since 2009, Minimum Wage by State 2026: All 50 States and DC, Alabama Minimum Wage 2026: $7.25 Federal, No State Rate

Every employer shall pay to each of his employees who in any workweek is engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, or is employed in an enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, wages at the following rates: except as otherwise provided in this section, not less than— $5.85 an hour, beginning on the 60th day after May 25, 2007; $6.55 an hour, beginning 12 months after that 60th day; and $7.25 an hour, beginning 24 months after that 60th day; if such employee is a home worker in Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands, not less than the minimum piece rate prescribed by regulation or order; or, if no such minimum piece rate is in effect, any piece rate adopted by such employer which shall yield, to the proportion or class of employees prescribed by regulation or order, not less than the applicable minimum hourly wage rate. Such minimum piece rates or employer piece rates shall be commensurate with, and shall be paid in lieu of, the minimum hourly wage rate applicable under the provisions of this section.

Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-28 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at uscode.house.gov

Also relied on in: Ohio Debt Collection Laws: Garnishment Formula, the 6-Year Consumer Debt Rule, and Repossession, South Dakota Debt Collection Laws: The 20% Garnishment Cap and 120-Day Lien, Wage Theft in the U.S.: Your Rights Regardless of Immigration Status

After the expiration of one hundred and twenty days from June 25, 1938, it shall be unlawful for any person— to transport, offer for transportation, ship, deliver, or sell in commerce, or to ship, deliver, or sell with knowledge that shipment or delivery or sale thereof in commerce is intended, any goods in the production of which any employee was employed in violation of section 206 or section 207 of this title, or in violation of any regulation or order of the Secretary issued under section 214 of this title; except that no provision of this chapter shall impose any liability upon any common carrier for the transportation in commerce in the regular course of its business of any goods not produced by such common carrier, and no provision of this chapter shall excuse any common carrier from its obligation to accept any goods for transportation; and except that any such transportation, offer, shipment, delivery, or sale of such goods by a purchaser who acquired them in good faith in reliance on written assurance from the producer that the goods were produced in compliance with the requirements of this chapter, and who acquired such goods for value without notice of any such…

Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-28 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at uscode.house.gov

Also relied on in: Federal Whistleblower Laws: Protections and How to Report, Employer Threatening to Call Immigration? Your Rights in the U.S., Connecticut Minimum Wage 2026: $16.94 an Hour ($17.48 in 2027)

Any person who willfully violates any of the provisions of section 215 of this title shall upon conviction thereof be subject to a fine of not more than $10,000, or to imprisonment for not more than six months, or both. No person shall be imprisoned under this subsection except for an offense committed after the conviction of such person for a prior offense under this subsection. Any employer who violates the provisions of section 206 or section 207 of this title shall be liable to the employee or employees affected in the amount of their unpaid minimum wages, or their unpaid overtime compensation, as the case may be, and in an additional equal amount as liquidated damages. Any employer who violates the provisions of section 215(a)(3) or 218d of this title shall be liable for such legal or equitable relief as may be appropriate to effectuate the purposes of section 215(a)(3) or 218d of this title, including without limitation employment, reinstatement, promotion, and the payment of wages lost and an additional equal amount as liquidated damages.

Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-09-03 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at uscode.house.gov

Also relied on in: Unpaid Wages: How to File a Claim and Recover What You're Owed, Independent Contractor vs. Employee: The IRS, DOL and ABC Tests, Alaska Minimum Wage 2026: $14.00 an Hour, $15.00 in July 2027

No provision of this chapter or of any order thereunder shall excuse noncompliance with any Federal or State law or municipal ordinance establishing a minimum wage higher than the minimum wage established under this chapter or a maximum work week lower than the maximum workweek established under this chapter, and no provision of this chapter relating to the employment of child labor shall justify noncompliance with any Federal or State law or municipal ordinance establishing a higher standard than the standard established under this chapter. No provision of this chapter shall justify any employer in reducing a wage paid by him which is in excess of the applicable minimum wage under this chapter, or justify any employer in increasing hours of employment maintained by him which are shorter than the maximum hours applicable under this chapter.

Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-28 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at uscode.house.gov

Also relied on in: Arizona Minimum Wage 2026: $15.15 Per Hour, $15.65 in 2027, Arkansas Minimum Wage 2026: $11.00 an Hour, Tip Credit Rules, California Minimum Wage 2026: $16.90 an Hour, $17.40 in 2027

Any action commenced on or after May 14, 1947, to enforce any cause of action for unpaid minimum wages, unpaid overtime compensation, or liquidated damages, under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended [29 U.S.C. 201 et seq.], the Walsh-Healey Act, or the Bacon-Davis Act 1  See References in Text note below.  — if the cause of action accrues on or after May 14, 1947 —may be commenced within two years after the cause of action accrued, and every such action shall be forever barred unless commenced within two years after the cause of action accrued, except that a cause of action arising out of a willful violation may be commenced within three years after the cause of action accrued; if the cause of action accrued prior to May 14, 1947 —may be commenced within whichever of the following periods is the shorter: (1) two years after the cause of action accrued, or (2) the period prescribed by the applicable State statute of limitations; and, except as provided in paragraph (c), every such action shall be forever barred unless commenced within the shorter of such two periods; if the cause of action accrued prior to May 14, 1947, the action shall not be barred by paragraph (b)…

Official text (excerpt) · last checked 2026-07-28 · Read the full text in our law library · Verify at uscode.house.gov

Also relied on in: Colorado Minimum Wage 2026: $15.16, $15.71 in 2027, Georgia Minimum Wage 2026: $7.25 Federal, $5.15 State Rate, Hawaii Minimum Wage 2026: $16.00 an Hour, Next Step $18.00 in 2028