Pay Stub Requirements in Kentucky

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Which employers must give the statement

KRS § 337.070 applies to employers that employ at least 10 people and make deductions from employee salaries or wages. The same sentence says the rule applies whether the employer pays "by check or otherwise." This is a limited deduction-statement duty, not a universal requirement that every Kentucky employer issue a full pay stub.

When and what the employer must provide

At the time it pays salary or wages, a covered employer must furnish each employee a paper or electronic statement. The statement must give "the amount of each deduction and the general purpose for which the deduction is made." Section 337.070 does not add gross pay, net pay, hours, rates, pay-period dates, or party-identification fields to that employee-facing statement.

Electronic statements

Kentucky expressly permits an electronic statement. If the employer uses that option, § 337.070 says the employer "shall provide access to a computer and printer for review and printing by the employee." The section does not state a consent, paper opt-out, or electronic-storage requirement.

Records and access

KRS § 337.320 separately requires records of the amount paid each pay period and the hours worked each day and week. Those records must remain on file for at least one year. The statute opens them to the commissioner or an authorized representative and lets the commissioner demand a sworn statement; it does not state a general current- or former-employee procedure for historical copies.

Penalty

KRS § 337.990(6) assesses $100 to $1,000 for each failure to comply with the deduction-statement rule. It also says each day the failure continues is a separate offense. The cited statement provisions do not state employee statutory damages, attorney fees, a cure period, or a statement-only limitations period.

What trips people up

The 10-employee threshold is only half the trigger. Section 337.070 also speaks to employers "making deductions" from wages or salaries. It does not create a general statement duty for an employer that meets the headcount but makes no deductions.

Do not copy fields from the employer's payroll records onto the employee-facing statement. Section 337.320 makes amounts paid and hours worked part of the employer's compliance records, but § 337.070's delivered statement lists only each deduction amount and its general purpose.

Common questions

May an electronic statement require the employee to find a printer elsewhere?

The statute puts the access duty on the employer. An employer choosing an electronic statement must provide access to both a computer and a printer for review and printing.

Must the statement identify the exact recipient or legal authority for a deduction?

Section 337.070 requires the amount of each deduction and its general purpose. It does not prescribe an exact label, identify a required recipient field, or require a statutory citation on the statement.

Statutes and sources

• KRS § 337.070. Ten-employee and deduction trigger, payment-time delivery, required deduction information, and electronic computer/printer access. Official text (accessed July 14, 2026).
• KRS § 337.320. One-year employer records of pay-period amounts and daily/weekly hours, with commissioner inspection and transcript access. Official text (accessed July 14, 2026).
• KRS § 337.990(6). Civil penalty and continuing-day rule for failure to comply with § 337.070. Official text (accessed July 14, 2026).