Kansas Statutes Annotated

K.S.A. § 44-1211 (2026)

Liability of employer for payment of wages and overtime compensation; assignment of wage claim to secretary of human resources; attorney fees and costs

✓ current as of May 2026
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44-1211. Liability of employer for payment of wages and overtime compensation; assignment of wage claim to secretary of human resources; attorney fees and costs. (a) On and after January 1, 1978, any employer who pays an employee less than the wages and overtime compensation to which such employee is entitled, under or by virtue of K.S.A. 44-1201 to 44-1213, inclusive, shall be liable to such employee affected for the full amount of such wages and overtime compensation, less any amount actually paid to such employee by the employer, and for costs and such reasonable attorney fees as may be allowed by the court in an action for the recovery of such wages and overtime compensation. Any agreement between such employee and the employer to work for less than the applicable wage rate shall be no defense to such action. Such action may be maintained in any court of competent jurisdiction by any one or more employees for and in behalf of such employee or employees.

(b) On and after January 1, 1978, at the written request of any employee who has been paid less than the amount to which he or she is entitled under the provisions of this act, the secretary may take an assignment of such wage claim in trust for the assigning employee and may bring any legal action necessary to collect such claim, and the employer shall be required to pay the costs and such reasonable attorneys' fees as may be allowed by the court. The secretary in case of suit shall have power to join various claimants against the same employer in one action.

History: L. 1977, ch. 179, § 13; July 1.

CASE ANNOTATIONS

1. County is an employer under K.S.A. 44-1201 et seq. State ex rel. Ludwick v. Board of Johnson County Comm'rs, 233 Kan. 79, 661 P.2d 377 (1983).

2. Costs may be granted under K.S.A. 60-2002 independent of subsection (b) hereof. Dollison v. Osborne County, 241 Kan. 374, 385, 386, 737 P.2d 43 (1987).

3. Cited; undersheriff as entitled to overtime compensation, attorney fees examined; agreement to work at less than applicable rate no defense. Dollison v. Osborne Co., 243 Kan. 763, 766, 763 P.2d 1101 (1988).


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Notes of Decisions
Cited in 6 cases, 1983–2018 · leading case: Ross v. Jenkins, 325 F. Supp. 3d 1141 (D. Kan. 2018).
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Ross v. Jenkins, 325 F. Supp. 3d 1141 (D. Kan. 2018). · cites it 8× “In Kansas, Kan. Stat. Ann. § 44-1211 (a) provides a private right of action for an employee against her employer if the employer failed to pay "less than the wages and overtime compensation to which such employee [was] entitled.”
Blair v. Transam Trucking, Inc., 309 F. Supp. 3d 977 (D. Kan. 2018). · cites it 2× “K.S.A. § 44-1211(a). See Chelsea Plaza Homes, Inc.”
Dollison v. Osborne Cnty., 737 P.2d 43 (Kan. 1987). · cites it 3× “Defendant Osborne County finally contends that the court was without authority to grant the costs and argues this may be done under K.S.A. 44-1211(b) only where the court finds a violation of *386 the KMWMHL.”
State Ex Rel. Ludwick v. Bd. of Johnson Cnty. Comm'rs, 661 P.2d 377 (Kan. 1983). “The State then brought this action on behalf of the Med-Act workers pursuant to K.S.A. 44-1211(¿ ). In its petition, plaintiff, in substance, claims that the *80 defendants knowingly and willfully failed to pay overtime wages as required by the Kansas Minimum Wage and Maximum…”
Lumry v. State (Kan. 2016). “44-1210(b); K.S.A. 44-1211. The act exempts "the employment of" FLSA- covered employees.”
Dollison v. Osborne Cnty., 763 P.2d 1101 (Kan. 1988). · cites it 2× “As the defendant concedes, K.S.A. 44-1211(a) expressly provides that an employee’s agreement to work for less than the applicable wage rate shall not be a defense to a subsequent action by the employee to recover his appropriate wages and overtime compensation.”
— K.S.A. § 44-1211(a) — 2 cases
Blair v. Transam Trucking, Inc., 309 F. Supp. 3d 977 (D. Kan. 2018). “K.S.A. § 44-1211(a). See Chelsea Plaza Homes, Inc.”
Dollison v. Osborne Cnty., 763 P.2d 1101 (Kan. 1988). “As the defendant concedes, K.S.A. 44-1211(a) expressly provides that an employee’s agreement to work for less than the applicable wage rate shall not be a defense to a subsequent action by the employee to recover his appropriate wages and overtime compensation.”
— K.S.A. § 44-1211(b) — 1 case
Dollison v. Osborne Cnty., 737 P.2d 43 (Kan. 1987). “Defendant Osborne County finally contends that the court was without authority to grant the costs and argues this may be done under K.S.A. 44-1211(b) only where the court finds a violation of *386 the KMWMHL.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.