This post will guide you through employee leave laws for businesses and workers located in the state of Kansas.
Follow this guide to understand employers’ obligations for vacation time, paid time off (PTO), sick leave, parental leave, bereavement and more, along with state holidays observed in Kansas.
This page is intended for reference purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please see official government sources or consult a legal professional for actual legal advice.
No federal or state laws in the USA require employers to provide paid or unpaid vacation time in Kansas. Employers in Kansas do not have to provide vacation time for their employees. However, if they choose to do so, they must comply with any promises made (such as minimum time off quota or carryover rules) in an employee’s contract.
Use It or Lose It policies are enforceable in the state of Kansas.
Kansas law does not consider paid time off as a form of wages, like some other states, so employers are free to set a policy where vacation days are forfeited if not used by a specific time.
Use It or Lose It leave policies mean that any leave not used at the end of the year is forfeited, and not carried over to the following year. Learn more about Use It or Lose It policies here.
Vacation time, PTO, sick leave and any other type of leave is not required to be paid out upon separation of employment, unless promised in an employee’s contract.
Separation includes when an employee quits, is fired, retires or is laid off. Some states require any unused PTO to be paid out at this time, while some (including Kansas) allow unused PTO to be forfeited upon separation.
Kansas employers do not have to provide paid sick leave for their employees. However, employers in Kansas must comply with the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which entitles eligible employees the right to take 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for serious health conditions, or to care for spouses, children or parents with a serious health condition.
The following official state holidays are observed in Kansas:
| Date | Holiday |
|---|---|
| January 1 | New Year’s Day |
| 3rd Monday in January | Martin Luther King, Jr Day |
| Last Monday in May | Memorial Day |
| July 4 | Independence Day |
| 1st Monday in September | Labor Day |
| November 11 | Veterans Day |
| 4th Thursday in November | Thanksgiving |
| Day after Thanksgiving | Thanksgiving Friday |
| December 25 | Christmas Day |
There is no requirement to allow employees a paid or unpaid day off for Kansas state holidays, and employees required to work on state holidays are not legally entitled to extra compensation (such as higher pay or a compensatory day off), unless promised in their employment contract.
There is no law regarding maternity leave in the state of Kansas. It’s up to the employer’s discretion whether to provide this as a benefit.
The FMLA does apply, however, entitling new mothers to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for the birth of a new child, as well as the placement of a new adoption or foster.
Paternity leave is not covered by Kansas law either, but fathers have the same right to unpaid, job-protected leave of up to 12 weeks for the birth of their child, or a new adoption or fostered child.
There is no legal requirement to provide bereavement leave in Kansas. Employers are free to decide whether or not to grant leave in the case of a bereavement.
There is no requirement to provide paid leave to employees for jury duty, although employers must not discharge, discipline, coerce or threaten employees for responding to a summons or serving jury duty. In effect, this means that employers must provide unpaid leave to allow employees to serve jury duty.
Employers must allow employees to leave work (while getting paid their regular wages) for up to two hours in order to vote – unless there are two consecutive hours outside of the employee’s shift time in which they are able to vote.
Employees called up to active duty are allowed to take unlimited leave (unpaid), and when returning from active duty, are entitled to reinstatement at their previous or an equivalent role.
Members of the Kansas National Guard are also allowed time off for drills, muster, active service and training.
Federal Law (the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA)) applies in Kansas, which states that military service members receive up to five years of unpaid leave for military service, and upon returning, must be reinstated to the same position (or an equivalent position) as they had before their leave.
Anything not covered in Kansas state leave laws is up to the discretion of the employer, such as whether or not to provide paid sick leave or PTO, or whether PTO rolls over from year to year.
However, if any benefits are laid out in an employee’s contract or company policy, employers must comply with what has been agreed in that document.
For example, if an employee’s contract states that they are to receive 12 days of PTO each year, the employer is legally required to provide this, even though paid time off is not required by state law.
https://www.dol.ks.gov/laws-faqs
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