New Kansas Employment Laws: Workers’ Comp, Union Dues, Whistleblowers

New Kansas employment laws passed in 2024 and 2025 reshaped workers’ compensation benefits, unemployment insurance reporting, public-sector union dues, non-solicitation agreements, and whistleblower protection for municipal workers. Most are already in force. Here is what each one does and when it takes effect.

Workers’ Compensation Benefit Caps Jumped Sharply

Senate Bill 430, signed by Governor Laura Kelly on April 11, 2024, raised the dollar ceilings on workers’ compensation benefits for injuries occurring on or after July 1, 2024. The old caps had sat untouched for more than a decade.

The new maximums are:

Permanent total disability: $400,000, up from $155,000
Death benefits: $500,000, up from $300,000
Permanent partial disability, including work disability: $225,000, up from $130,000
Temporary total disability: $225,000, up from $130,000
Functional impairment only: $100,000, up from $75,000

These are absolute ceilings on everything an injured worker or surviving dependents can collect for a single injury.¹ One narrow exception applies to death benefits: payments to a dependent child can continue past the $500,000 cap while the child is still a minor, still in high school, or enrolled in college or vocational school through age 23.

The caps hold at these levels through June 30, 2027. Starting July 1, 2027, they adjust annually based on changes in the state’s average weekly wage, so the legislature will not have to revisit the numbers manually for them to keep up with wages.¹

New Impairment Thresholds for Higher Benefit Tiers

SB 430 also tightened who qualifies for the top benefit tiers. To pursue permanent total disability benefits at the $400,000 cap, a worker must show the workplace accident caused at least 10 percent permanent partial impairment to the body as a whole. If the worker had a preexisting impairment, combined impairment must reach 15 percent. On top of that numerical floor, the worker still has to show they are essentially unemployable because of the injury.¹

For permanent partial disability with work disability at the $225,000 cap, the floor is 7.5 percent impairment to the body as a whole, or 10 percent combined if preexisting impairment exists. Work disability at this level is calculated by averaging the worker’s wage loss and task loss from the injury. Workers whose injury produces only functional impairment, with no broader work disability, remain capped at $100,000.¹

Social Security Retirement Offset Cut in Half

Kansas used to reduce workers’ comp awards dollar-for-dollar against any Social Security retirement benefits the worker was receiving. That hit older injured workers hard. SB 430 cut the offset substantially.

Permanent partial and permanent total disability awards now carry an offset equal to 50 percent of the worker’s Social Security retirement benefits, not the full amount. Temporary total disability and temporary partial disability benefits carry no Social Security retirement offset at all. A worker collecting Social Security retirement alongside temporary total disability from a workplace injury now receives the state benefits with no federal-benefit reduction.

A separate federal rule still applies. The Social Security Administration may reduce federal disability payments if combined workers’ compensation and SSDI benefits exceed 80 percent of pre-disability earnings.² That federal offset runs independently of the state rules, so a reduction removed at the state level can sometimes trigger or enlarge one at the federal level.

New Unemployment Insurance Reporting Channel for Employers

Substitute House Bill 2570, Chapter 83 of the 2024 Session Laws, gives employers a formal way to report job seekers who skip interviews or turn down suitable work. The Secretary of Labor is directed to build an audit process inside the state’s new unemployment insurance IT system so employers can submit these reports electronically.³

Two situations qualify: a claimant who accepted an interview appointment but never showed up or gave notice, and a claimant who refused an offer of suitable work without good cause. Reporting is voluntary; the law states nothing in it requires an employer to notify the department. When an employer does report, the Secretary must send the claimant a notice within 10 business days explaining their obligations, warning that benefits may be disqualified, describing what counts as suitable work, and giving instructions for contesting a denial.³

Whether work counts as suitable depends on the claimant’s circumstances. The Kansas Department of Labor weighs factors including risk to health and safety, prior training and experience, previous wages, length of unemployment, local job prospects in the usual field, and distance from home.⁴ A job is not suitable if it pays substantially less than prevailing local wages for similar work or if the position is vacant because of a labor dispute.

HB 2570 also requires employers with 25 or more employees to file wage reports, contribution returns, and payments electronically. Late filings carry a penalty of 0.05 percent of total wages paid during the quarter, with a $25 floor and a $200 ceiling per late report. Unpaid contributions accrue interest at 1 percent per month.³ The Secretary had until January 1, 2026, to implement the new reporting system, so employers should confirm the system is live before trying to submit reports.

Written Consent Required for Public Employee Union Dues

Senate Bill 13, approved on April 1, 2025, changed how union dues come out of state employee paychecks. The law amends K.S.A. 75-5501 to require written authorization from the employee before any dues deduction starts. That authorization stays in effect for at least 180 days. After the 180-day period, the employee can end the deduction at any time by giving 30 days’ written notice.⁵

No state agency can withhold union dues without documented consent, and no employee is locked into paying dues indefinitely. The 180-day minimum gives the employee organization a stable membership window, but the exit is always open after that. Employees who want to stop paying do not have to wait for an annual enrollment period or a contract renewal; written notice and a 30-day wait is enough.

Non-Solicitation Agreements Get an Employer-Friendly Update

Senate Bill 241, effective July 1, 2025, amends the Kansas Restraint of Trade Act to address non-solicitation agreements between employers and employees. The amendments target agreements that restrict a departing employee from soliciting the former employer’s clients or coworkers. The changes are generally considered employer-friendly, giving businesses greater ability to enforce these provisions and protect workforce stability. Employers using non-solicitation agreements should review existing contracts to confirm they fit the updated statutory framework.

Municipal Employees Get Whistleblower Protection

House Bill 2160, effective July 1, 2025, created the Municipal Employee Whistleblower Act. It protects municipal employees who report unlawful or unauthorized conduct by a municipality or its officers. Kansas already protected state employees who blew the whistle, but municipal workers had been in a gray area. The new act gives city and county employees a clear legal shield against retaliation when they report wrongdoing up the chain or to outside authorities.

Minimum Wage Did Not Change

Kansas still follows the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. No state-level increase was enacted in the 2024 or 2025 sessions. The state minimum wage law excludes employment already covered by the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, which captures most Kansas workers. Several bills proposing increases have been introduced in recent sessions, but none have reached the governor’s desk.

1
Kansas Secretary of State. 2024 Session Laws of Kansas Chapter 27 Senate Bill 430
2
Social Security Administration. How Workers Compensation and Other Disability Payments May Affect Your Benefits
3
Kansas Secretary of State. 2024 Session Laws of Kansas Chapter 83 Substitute for House Bill 2570
4
Kansas Department of Labor. Employer Services
5
Kansas Secretary of State. 2025 Session Laws of Kansas Chapter 29 Senate Bill 13