Ky. Rev. Stat. » Chapter 341
Kentucky Revised Statutes

Ky. Rev. Stat. § 341.470 (2026)

Protection of rights and benefits -- Representation in proceedings

✓ current as of May 2026
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before a referee or the commission.

(1) No agreement by a worker to waive, release, or commute his rights to benefits or any other rights under this chapter shall be valid. No agreement by any worker to pay any portion of a subject employer's contributions, required under this chapter from such subject employer, shall be valid. No subject employer shall directly or indirectly make or require or accept any deductions from wages to finance the subject employer's contributions required of him. In cases involving awards to a worker by an arbitrator, court, or other administrative body or mediator, the secretary may require the employer to withhold benefits paid under this chapter from the award and pay the amount withheld into the unemployment insurance trust fund. All subject employers are required to notify the Office of Unemployment Insurance prior to paying any back pay award.

(2) No worker claiming benefits shall be charged fees of any kind in any proceeding under this chapter by the commission, the secretary, or his or her representatives. Any worker claiming benefits in any proceeding before a referee or the commission may represent himself or herself or may be represented by counsel or other agent duly authorized by such worker and shall be afforded the opportunity to participate in the proceeding without restriction; but no counsel or agent shall either charge or receive for such service more than an amount approved by the commission.

(3) (a) Any employer in any proceeding before a referee or the commission may represent himself or may be represented by counsel or other agent duly authorized by such employer; and

(b) Any person appearing in any proceeding before a referee or the commission who is an officer of, or who regularly performs in a managerial capacity for, a corporation or partnership which is a party to the proceeding in which the appearance is made shall be permitted to represent such corporation or partnership and shall be afforded the opportunity to participate in the proceeding without restriction.

(4) No assignment, pledge, or encumbrance of any right to benefits due or payable under this chapter shall be valid; and such rights to benefits shall be exempt from levy, execution, attachment, or any other remedy for the collection of debt. Benefits received by any worker, as long as they are not mingled with other funds of the recipient, shall be exempt from any remedy for the collection of all debts except debts incurred for necessaries furnished to such worker or his spouse or dependents during the time such worker was unemployed. No waiver of any exemption provided for in this subsection shall be valid.

(5) The provisions of this section shall not be applicable to child support deductions made in accordance with KRS 341.392 and withholding for federal and state income tax in accordance with KRS 341.395. Effective:July 1, 2022 History: Amended 2022 Ky. Acts ch. 236, sec. 147, effective July 1, 2022. -- Amended 2019 Ky. Acts ch. 146, sec. 66, effective June 27, 2019. -- Amended 2006 Ky. Acts ch. 211, sec. 153, effective July 12, 2006. -- Amended 1998 Ky. Acts ch. 167, sec. 7, effective July 15, 1998. -- Amended 1996 Ky. Acts ch. 266, sec. 16, effective July 15, 1996; and ch. 271, sec. 21, effective July 15, 1996. -- Amended 1992 Ky. Acts ch. 133, sec. 5, effective July 14, 1992. -- Amended 1986 Ky. Acts ch. 26, sec. 7, effective July 15, 1986. -- Amended 1984 Ky. Acts ch. 12, sec. 1, effective July 13, 1984. -- Amended 1982 Ky. Acts ch. 67, sec. 10, effective July 15, 1982. -- Amended 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 74, Art. VI, sec. 107(21). -- Amended 1950 Ky. Acts ch. 206, sec. 1. -- Recodified 1942 Ky. Acts ch. 208, sec. 1, effective October 1, 1942, from Ky. Stat. sec. 4748g-12. Legislative Research Commission Note (7/29/97). The word "Except" was deleted from the beginning of the sentence in subsection (1) of this statute that begins "In cases involving awards ...." by 1996 Ky. Acts ch. 266, sec. 16. This deletion was inadvertently omitted in the merger of the amendments to this statute by 1996 Ky. Acts chs. 266 and 271, and the text of the statute has been corrected to reflect this deletion.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 8 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1961–2022 · leading case: Kentucky Unemployment Ins. Comm'n v. Kroehler Mfg. Co., 352 S.W.2d 212 (Ky. Ct. App. 1961).
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Kentucky Unemployment Ins. Comm'n v. Kroehler Mfg. Co., 352 S.W.2d 212 (Ky. Ct. App. 1961). · cites it 2× “The Commission has questioned the voluntary agreement to participate in the retirement plan as being in violation of KRS 341.470(1), prohibiting an agreement to waive, release, or commute any benefits payable under Chapter 341, Unemployment Compensation.”
Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. v. Kentucky Bar Ass'n, 113 S.W.3d 105 (Ky. 2003). “470 and subsection (2) of this section, a person is guilty of unlawful practice of law when, without a license issued by the Supreme Court, he engages in the practice of law, as defined by rule of the Supreme Court. (2) A licensed nonresident attorney in good standing, although…”
Sw. Bell Tel. Co. v. Emp. Sec. Bd. of Review, 502 P.2d 645 (Kan. 1972). · cites it 2× “It was said: "The Commission has questioned the voluntary agreement to participate in the retirement plan as being in violation of KRS 341.470 (1), prohibiting an agreement to waive, release, or commute any benefits payable under Chapter 341, Unemployment Compensation.”
Kentucky Unemployment Ins. Comm'n v. Reynolds Metals Co., 360 S.W.2d 746 (Ky. Ct. App. 1962). “Other issues raised on this appeal, such as whether participation in the pension plan constitutes an unlawful waiver of Unemployment benefits under KRS 341.470(1), have already been determined adversely to appellants’ contentions in the Kroehler case.”
Kentucky Unemployment Ins. Comm'n v. Am. Nat'l Bank & Trust Co., 367 S.W.2d 260 (Ky. Ct. App. 1963). “The appellants also argue that the agreement to quit when the job no longer exists is prohibited by KRS 341.470, which provides that no agreement by a worker to waive, release or commute his rights to benefits shall be valid.”
Kentucky Unemployment Ins. Comm'n v. Michael Nichols (Ky. 2021). · cites it 15× “After reviewing the matter, we find Nichols lacks standing to question the validity of KRS 341.470(3). So we reverse the decision of the Court of Appeals that invalidated KRS 341.”
Kentucky Unemployment Ins. Comm'n v. Gen. Elec. Co., 473 S.W.2d 808 (Ky. Ct. App. 1971). “There is some argument in the briefs on the question of whether, under the union contract, every employe “voluntarily” agreed to leave work during the shutdown periods, so that every employe was disqualified from receiving benefits during shutdowns regardless of whether he ever…”
Michael Nichols v. Kentucky Unemployment Ins. Comm'n (Ky. Ct. App. 2022). “The Supreme Court held that Nichols lacked standing to challenge the constitutionality of KRS 341.470(3)(a) because he failed to allege a sufficient injury attributable to Norton’s representation by a non-attorney.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 341.470(1) — 2 cases
Kentucky Unemployment Ins. Comm'n v. Kroehler Mfg. Co., 352 S.W.2d 212 (Ky. Ct. App. 1961). “The Commission has questioned the voluntary agreement to participate in the retirement plan as being in violation of KRS 341.470(1), prohibiting an agreement to waive, release, or commute any benefits payable under Chapter 341, Unemployment Compensation.”
Kentucky Unemployment Ins. Comm'n v. Reynolds Metals Co., 360 S.W.2d 746 (Ky. Ct. App. 1962). “Other issues raised on this appeal, such as whether participation in the pension plan constitutes an unlawful waiver of Unemployment benefits under KRS 341.470(1), have already been determined adversely to appellants’ contentions in the Kroehler case.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 341.470(3) — 1 case
Kentucky Unemployment Ins. Comm'n v. Michael Nichols (Ky. 2021). “After reviewing the matter, we find Nichols lacks standing to question the validity of KRS 341.470(3). So we reverse the decision of the Court of Appeals that invalidated KRS 341.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 341.470(3)(a) — 2 cases
Kentucky Unemployment Ins. Comm'n v. Michael Nichols (Ky. 2021). “After reviewing the matter, we find Nichols lacks standing to question the validity of KRS 341.470(3). So we reverse the decision of the Court of Appeals that invalidated KRS 341.”
Michael Nichols v. Kentucky Unemployment Ins. Comm'n (Ky. Ct. App. 2022). “The Supreme Court held that Nichols lacked standing to challenge the constitutionality of KRS 341.470(3)(a) because he failed to allege a sufficient injury attributable to Norton’s representation by a non-attorney.”
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