In celebration of the Labor Day, the Kentucky House Democratic Caucus announced a multi-faceted slate of bills that members will file in 2024 to help working families.
The proposed legislation ranges from raising the minimum wage, which hasn’t changed since 2009, to restoring pro-union and other pro-worker measures that were in place for decades prior to being stripped away by Republican legislative super-majorities over the past six years.
A top priority is adding Kentucky to the growing list of states that have raised the minimum wage to at least $15 an hour. A related proposal would also give local communities the flexibility to raise the minimum wage in their jurisdiction.
Another would ensure all workers would be able to earn sick leave, while another would extend health-insurance coverage to a worker’s first day, if the job includes that coverage.
Other employee-driven bills would bar businesses from asking about felony status on initial job applications, enable workers who are victims of a crime to take time off to attend court proceedings and establish a statewide fairness law so workers would not be at risk of being fired because they are a member of the LGBTQ community.
“For more than 140 years, Labor Day has been a time to shine a spotlight on those men and women who literally built this nation into what it is today,” Kentucky House Democratic Caucus Leader Derrick Graham said. “We have come a long way since the late 1800s when comparing workplace gains, but the reality is we have needlessly lost some of these hard-earned victories in more recent years. It’s time we reverse that trend and do more to strengthen and expand benefits, improve overall safety and amplify employee voices. Our bills would do that.”
Caucus Chair Cherlynn Stevenson said she would be re-filing bills designed to boost employee benefits. One would ensure all workers would be able to earn sick leave, while another would extend health-insurance coverage to a worker’s first day, if the job includes that coverage.
Other employee-driven bills would bar businesses from asking about felony status on initial job applications; enable workers who are victims of a crime to take time off to attend court proceedings; and establish a statewide fairness law so workers would not be at risk of being fired because they are a member of the LGBTQ community.
Caucus members will also sponsor bills penalizing employers who reduce wages or benefits either by not paying employees for all hours they work or by intentionally misclassifying workers as contractors.
House Democratic Caucus Whip Rachel Roberts said that several of the proposed bills would amplify labor’s voice.
“Six years ago, the Republican-led legislature regrettably made Kentucky a ‘right-to-work’ state, when the term should be called ‘right-to-work-for-less,” she said. “The legislature also took away prevailing wage, which better ensured workers on state and many local public-works projects are paid what they should be, and the legislature also has reduced labor’s voice in other ways, such as this year’s move to stop payroll deductions for union dues that many public workers pay. These protections never should have been taken away.”
Other proposed bills will reverse a 2018 law that made it much tougher for coal miners to qualify for black-lung workers’ comp benefits; require state economic-development incentives to be awarded only for jobs that pay a living wage; improve retirement benefits for first responders and teachers to encourage more to take those jobs; and have state agencies give extra preference to Kentucky – and U.S. – made products when possible.
“On Labor Day and every day, Kentucky House Democratic Caucus members value and respect those who build, make, grow, transport, maintain, serve, care and protect the very things we all count on,” Graham said. “We will do all we can to turn these bills into law during the next legislative session and hope we can celebrate their passage when next year’s Labor Day arrives. Kentucky workers deserve no less.”
Caucus members will also sponsor bills penalizing employers who reduce wages or benefits either by not paying employees for all hours they work or by intentionally misclassifying workers as contractors.
The 2024 session begins January 2.
Legislative Research Commission