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--- version:Introduced+++ version:(document, no version)@@ -1,280 +1,49 @@-UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1773-Page 1 of 10-XXXX 1/14/2026 9:24 AM Jacketed-AN ACT relating to conditions of employment. 1-Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Kentucky: 2-SECTION 1. A NEW SECTION OF KRS 344.030 TO 344.110 IS CREATED 3-TO READ AS FOLLOWS: 4-(1) An employer that requires an employee, as a condition of employment, to be 5-immunized against disease shall: 6-(a) Grant an exception to any employee for a sincere ly held religious belief 7-against immunization; 8-(b) Grant an exception to any employee for whom, in the written opinion of a 9-health care provider, the required immunization would be injurious to his 10-or her health; and 11-(c) Provide notice of the required immunization to each employee in a written 12-document that: 13-1. Advises in plain language the available exemptions from the required 14-immunization for a sincerely held religious belief or medical 15-contraindication; and 16-2. Requires each employee to acknowledge, in writing, receipt of the 17-requirement and receipt of the available exemptions. 18-(2) An employer may require an employee to swear or affirm the claimed exemption 19-on a form that substantially complies with the following: 20- "I, [employee name], swear or affirm by my signature below that I: 21- ..........Hold a sincere religious belief against receiving immunization 22- against disease. 23- .........Object to the immunization as the required immunization would 24- be injurious to my health. 25- [Employee signature] ......................................... [Date]............................". 26-(3) Additional evidence or documentation of an employee's sincerely held religious 27-UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1773-Page 2 of 10-XXXX 1/14/2026 9:24 AM Jacketed-belief shall not be required. 1-(4) A written opinion from a health care p rovider that the required immunization 2-would be injurious to the employee's health shall be the only documentation 3-required for an employee's claimed health exemption. 4-(5) (a) Any person injured by any act in violation of this section shall have a civil 5-cause of action in Circuit Court to: 6-1. Enjoin further violations; 7-2. Recover the actual damages sustained, including reasonable 8-attorney's fees, together with the costs of the action; and 9-3. Recover punitive damages. 10-(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of KR S 342.690, an employee who suffers 11-an adverse reaction to an immunization required as a condition of his or 12-her employment may claim compensation under KRS Chapter 342 and may 13-maintain a civil cause of action as provided under paragraph (a) of this 14-section, provided: 15-1. The amount of compensation paid under KRS Chapter 342 shall be 16-credited against the amount received in the civil action; and 17-2. If the amount of compensation paid under KRS Chapter 342 is larger 18-than the amount received in the civil action, the amount of damages 19-less the employee's legal fees, costs, and expenses in the civil action 20-shall be credited against the amount of compensation. 21-Section 2. KRS 344.030 is amended to read as follows: 22-As used in[For the purposes of] KRS 344.030 to 344.110: 23-(1) "Because of sex" and "on the basis of sex" includes but is not limited to because 24-of or on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions, and 25-women affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions shall be 26-treated the same for all employment -related purposes, including receipt of 27-UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1773-Page 3 of 10-XXXX 1/14/2026 9:24 AM Jacketed-benefits under fringe benefit programs, as other persons not so affected but 1-similar in their ability or inability to work ["Qualified individual with a d isability" 2-means an individual with a disability as defined in KRS 344.010 who, with or 3-without reasonable accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the 4-employment position that the individual holds or desires unless an employer 5-demonstrates th at he is unable to reasonably accommodate an employee's or 6-prospective employee's disability without undue hardship on the conduct of the 7-employers' business. Consideration shall be given to the employer's judgment as to 8-what functions of a job are essenti al, and if an employer has prepared a written 9-description before advertising or interviewing applicants for the job, this description 10-shall be considered evidence of the essential functions of the job]; 11-(2) (a) "Employee" means an individual employed by an employer, but does not 12-include an individual employed by his parents, spouse, or child, or an 13-individual employed to render services as a domestic in the home of the 14-employer. 15-(b) Notwithstanding any voluntary agreement entered into between the United 16-States Department of Labor and a franchisee, neither a franchisee nor a 17-franchisee's employee shall be deemed to be an employee of the franchisor 18-for any purpose under this chapter. 19-(c) Notwithstanding any voluntary agreement entered into between the United 20-States Department of Labor and a franchisor, neither a franchisor nor a 21-franchisor's employee shall be deemed to be an employee of the franchisee 22-for any purpose under this chapter. 23-(d) For purposes of this subs ection, "franchisee" and "franchisor" have the 24-same meanings as in 16 C.F.R. sec. 436.1; 25-(3) "Employer" means a person who has eight (8) or more employees within the state in 26-each of twenty (20) or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar 27-UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1773-Page 4 of 10-XXXX 1/14/2026 9:24 AM Jacketed-year and an agent of such a person, except for purposes of determining 1-accommodations for an employee's own limitations related to her pregnancy, 2-childbirth, or related medical conditions, employer means a person who has fifteen 3-(15) or more employees withi n the state in each of twenty (20) or more calendar 4-weeks in the current or preceding calendar year and any agent of the person, and, 5-except for purposes of determining discrimination based on disability, employer 6-means a person engaged in an industry affe cting commerce who has fifteen (15) or 7-more employees for each working day in each of twenty (20) or more calendar 8-weeks in the current or preceding calendar year, and any agent of that person, 9-except that, for two (2) years following July 14, 1992, an emp loyer means a person 10-engaged in an industry affecting commerce who has twenty -five (25) or more 11-employees for each working day in each of twenty (20) or more calendar weeks in 12-the current or preceding year, and any agent of that person. For the purposes of 13-determining discrimination based on disability, employer shall not include: 14-(a) The United States, a corporation wholly owned by the government of the 15-United States, or an Indian tribe; or 16-(b) A bona fide private membership club (other than a labor organi zation) that is 17-exempt from taxation under Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Service 18-Code of 1986; 19-(4)[(3)] "Employment agency" means a person regularly undertaking with or without 20-compensation to procure employees for an employer or to procure for em ployees 21-opportunities to work for an employer and includes an agent of such person; 22-(5) "Health care provider" means: 23-(a) An advanced practice registered nurse licensed under KRS Chapter 314; 24-(b) A pharmacist licensed under KRS Chapter 315; 25-(c) A physician or osteopath licensed under KRS Chapter 311; or 26-(d) A physician assistant licensed under KRS 311.840 to 311.862; 27-UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1773-Page 5 of 10-XXXX 1/14/2026 9:24 AM Jacketed-(6)[(4)] "Labor organization" means a labor organization and an agent of such an 1-organization, and includes an organization of any kind, an ag ency or employee 2-representation committee, group, association, or plan so engaged in which 3-employees participate and which exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of 4-dealing with employers concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, 5-hours, or other terms or conditions of employment, and a conference, general 6-committee, joint or system board, or joint council so engaged which is subordinate 7-to a national or international labor organization;[ 8-(5) (a) "Employee" means an individual employe d by an employer, but does 9-not include an individual employed by his parents, spouse, or child, or an 10-individual employed to render services as a domestic in the home of the 11-employer. 12-(b) Notwithstanding any voluntary agreement entered into between the Uni ted 13-States Department of Labor and a franchisee, neither a franchisee nor a 14-franchisee's employee shall be deemed to be an employee of the franchisor for 15-any purpose under this chapter. 16-(c) Notwithstanding any voluntary agreement entered into between the U nited 17-States Department of Labor and a franchisor, neither a franchisor nor a 18-franchisor's employee shall be deemed to be an employee of the franchisee for 19-any purpose under this chapter. 20-(d) For purposes of this subsection, "franchisee" and "franchisor" h ave the same 21-meanings as in 16 C.F.R. sec. 436.1;] 22-(7)[(6)] "Qualified individual with a disability" means an individual with a 23-disability as defined in KRS 344.010 who, with or without reasonable 24-accommodation, can perform the essential functions of the e mployment position 25-that the individual holds or desires unless an employer demonstrates that he is 26-unable to reasonably accommodate an employee's or prospective employee's 27-UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1773-Page 6 of 10-XXXX 1/14/2026 9:24 AM Jacketed-disability without undue hardship on the conduct of the employers' business. 1-Consideration shall be given to the employer's judgment as to what functions of a 2-job are essential, and if an employer has prepared a written description before 3-advertising or interviewing applicants for the job, this description shall be 4-considered evidence of the essential functions of the job; 5-(8) "Reasonable accommodation": 6-(a) Means making existing facilities used by employees readily accessible to and 7-usable by individuals with disabilities, job restructuring, part-time or modified 8-work schedules, reassignment to a vacant position, acquisition or modification 9-of equipment or devices, appropriate adjustment or modifications of 10-examinations, training materials or policies, the provision of qualified readers 11-or interpreters, and other similar accommodations for individuals with 12-disabilities; and 13-(b) For an employee's own limitations related to her pregnancy, childbirth, or 14-related medical conditions, may include more frequent or longer breaks, time 15-off to recover from childbirth, acquisition or modification of e quipment, 16-appropriate seating, temporary transfer to a less strenuous or less hazardous 17-position, job restructuring, light duty, modified work schedule, and private 18-space that is not a bathroom for expressing breast milk; 19-(9) "Related medical condition" includes but is not limited to lactation or the need to 20-express breast milk for a nursing child and has the same meaning as that term is 21-referenced in the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, 42 U.S.C. sec. 2000e(k), and 22-shall be construed as that term has been construed under that Act; 23-(10)[(7)] "Religion" means all aspects of religious observance and practice, as well as 24-belief, unless an employer demonstrates that he is unable to reasonably 25-accommodate to an employee's or prospective employee's religious observan ce or 26-practice without undue hardship on the conduct of the employer's business[; 27-UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1773-Page 7 of 10-XXXX 1/14/2026 9:24 AM Jacketed-(8) (a) The terms "because of sex" and "on the basis of sex" include but are not 1-limited to because of or on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth, or related 2-medical conditions, and women affected by pregnancy, childbirth, or related 3-medical conditions shall be treated the same for all employment -related 4-purposes, including receipt of benefits under fringe benefit programs, as other 5-persons not so affected but similar in their ability or inability to work. 6-(b) "Related medical condition" includes but is not limited to lactation or the need 7-to express breast milk for a nursing child and has the same meaning as in the 8-Pregnancy Discrimination Act, 42 U.S.C. sec. 2000e(k), and shall be 9-construed as that term has been construed under that Act]; and 10-(11)[(9)] "Undue hardship," for purposes of disability discrimination or limitations due 11-to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions as described in KRS 12-344.040(1)(c), means an action requiring significant difficulty or expense, when 13-considered in light of the following factors: 14-(a) The nature and cost of the accommodation needed; 15-(b) The overall financial resources of the facility or facilities involved in the 16-provision of the reasonable accommodation; the number of persons employed 17-at the facility; the effect on expenses and resources; or the impact otherwise of 18-such accommodation upon the operation of the facility; 19-(c) The overall financial resources of the covered entity; the overall size of the 20-business of a covered entity with respect to the number of its employees; and 21-the number, type, and location of its facilities; 22-(d) The type of operation or operations of the covered entity, including the 23-composition, structure, and fun ctions of the workforce of such entity; the 24-geographic separateness, administrative, or fiscal relationship of the facility or 25-facilities in question to the covered entity; and 26-(e) In addition to paragraphs (a) to (d) of this subsection, for pregnancy, 27-UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1773-Page 8 of 10-XXXX 1/14/2026 9:24 AM Jacketed-childbirth, and related medical conditions, the following factors: 1-1. The duration of the requested accommodation; and 2-2. Whether similar accommodations are required by policy to be ma de, 3-have been made, or are being made for other employees due to any 4-reason. 5-Section 3. KRS 344.040 is amended to read as follows: 6-(1) It is an unlawful practice for an employer: 7-(a) To fail or refuse to hire, or to disc harge any individual, or otherwise to 8-discriminate against an individual with respect to compensation, terms, 9-conditions, or privileges of employment, because of the individual's race, 10-color, religion, national origin, sex, age forty (40) and over, because the 11-person is a qualified individual with a disability, or because the individual is a 12-smoker or nonsmoker, as long as the person complies with any workplace 13-policy concerning smoking; 14-(b) To limit, segregate, or classify employees in any way which would deprive or 15-tend to deprive an individual of employment opportunities or otherwise 16-adversely affect status as an employee, because of the individual's race, color, 17-religion, national origin, sex, or age forty (40) and over, because the person is 18-a qualified individual with a disability, or because the individual is a smoker 19-or nonsmoker, as long as the person complies with any workplace policy 20-concerning smoking; 21-(c) To fail to make reasonable accommodations for any employee with 22-limitations related to pregn ancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition 23-who requests an accommodation, including but not limited to the need to 24-express breast milk, unless the employer can demonstrate the accommodation 25-would impose an undue hardship on the employer's program, en terprise, or 26-business. The following shall be required as to reasonable accommodations: 27-UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1773-Page 9 of 10-XXXX 1/14/2026 9:24 AM Jacketed-1. An employee shall not be required to take leave from work if another 1-reasonable accommodation can be provided; 2-2. The employer and employee shall engage in a timely, good faith, and 3-interactive process to determine effective reasonable accommodations; 4-and 5-3. If the employer has a policy to provide, would be required to provide, is 6-currently providing, or has provided a similar accommodation to other 7-classes of employe es, then a rebuttable presumption is created that the 8-accommodation does not impose an undue hardship on the employer; [ 9-or] 10-(d) To require as a condition of employment that any employee or applicant for 11-employment abstain from smoking or using tobacco prod ucts outside the 12-course of employment, as long as the person complies with any workplace 13-policy concerning smoking; or 14-(e) To require as a condition of employment that any employee be immunized 15-against disease if that employee has: 16-1. A sincerely held religious belief against immunization; or 17-2. Received the written opinion of a health care provider that the 18-required immunization would be injurious to his or her health. 19-(2) (a) A difference in employee contribution rates for smokers and nonsmokers in 20-relation to an employer -sponsored health plan shall not be deemed to be an 21-unlawful practice in violation of this section. 22-(b) The offering of incentives or benefits offered by an employer to employees 23-who participate in a smoking cessation program shall not be deemed to be an 24-unlawful practice in violation of this section. 25-(3) (a) An employer shall provide written notice of the right to be free from 26-discrimination in relation to pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical 27-UNOFFICIAL COPY 26 RS BR 1773-Page 10 of 10-XXXX 1/14/2026 9:24 AM Jacketed-conditions, including the right to reasonable accommodations, to [: 1-1. ]new employees at the commencement of employment[; and 2-2. Existing employees not later than thirty (30) days after June 27, 2019]. 3-(b) An employer shall conspicuously post a written notice of the right to be free 4-from discrimination in relation to pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical 5-conditions, including the right to reasonable accommodations, at the 6-employer's place of business in an area accessible to employees. 7+Page 1+Local Government Mandate Statement+Kentucky Legislative Research Commission+2026 Regular Session++Part I: Measure Information++Bill Request #: 1773 Bill #: SB 108+Document ID #: 3359 Sponsor: Sen. Stephen West+Bill Title: AN ACT relating to conditions of employment.++Unit of ☒ City ☒ County ☒ Urban-County+Government: ☒ Charter County ☒ Consolidated Local ☒ Unified Local++Office(s) Impacted: Any local government that has an office or offices that requires+employee immunization as a condition of employment.++Requirement: ☒ Mandatory ☐ Optional++Effect on Powers+& Duties:++☒ Modifies Existing ☒ Adds New ☐ Eliminates Existing++Other Fiscal Statement(s)+that may exist:+☐ Actuarial Analysis ☐ Corrections Impact+☐ Health Benefit Mandate ☐ State Employee Health Plan++Part II: Bill Provisions and the Estimated Fiscal Impact Relating to Local Government++SB 108 requires employers that mandate employee immunization to allow exceptions+based on religious belief or medical contraindication. The bill also amends KRS 344.040+to make it an unlawful practice for employers to require immunizations as a condition of+employment from employees who hold sincere religious beliefs against immunization or+for whom immunization would be harmful to his or her health.++The fiscal impact of SB 108 is indeterminate, but expected to be minimal.++The local government may incur some administrative and legal costs associated with+documenting, reviewing, amending ordinances, and creating any forms that may be+necessary. According to Kentucky League of Cities, most cities, especially the smaller+ones, retain their city attorney on contract and pay on an hourly basis. Time spent+drafting an ordinance is influenced by its complexity and the amount of research that is+necessary. In FY 2026, the average hourly rate for an attorney is $125.++Data Source(s): LRC Staff++Preparer: BW Reviewer: MS (MDA) Date: 1/22/26
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