The following shall constitute employees subject to the provisions of this chapter, except
as exempted under KRS 342.650:
(1) Every person, including a minor, whether lawfully or unlawfully employed, in the
service of an employer under any contract of hire or apprenticeship, express or
implied, and all helpers and assistants of employees, whether paid by the employer
or employee, if employed with the knowledge, actual or constructive, of the
employer;
(2) Every executive officer of a corporation;
(3) Every person in the service of the state or any of its political subdivisions or
agencies, or of any county, city of any class, school district, drainage district, tax
district, public or quasipublic corporation, or other political entity, under any
contract of hire, express or implied, and every official or officer of those entities,
whether elected or appointed, while performing his official duties shall be
considered an employee of the state. Every person who is a member of a volunteer
ambulance service, fire, or police department shall be deemed, for the purposes of
this chapter, to be in the employment of the political subdivision of the state where
the department is organized. Every person who is a regularly-enrolled volunteer
member or trainee of an emergency management agency, as established under KRS
Chapters 39A to 39E, shall be deemed, for the purposes of this chapter, to be in the
employment of this state. Every person who is a member of the Kentucky National
Guard, while the person is on state active duty as defined in KRS 38.010(4), shall
be deemed, for the purposes of this chapter, to be in the employment of this state;
and
(4) Every person performing service in the course of the trade, business, profession, or
occupation of an employer at the time of the injury.
Effective: July 15, 2014
History: Amended 2014 Ky. Acts ch. 23, sec. 1, effective July 15, 2014. -- Amended
1998 Ky. Acts ch. 226, sec. 110, effective July 15, 1998. -- Amended 1996 (1st
Extra. Sess.) Ky. Acts ch. 1, sec. 28, effective December 12, 1996. -- Amended 1992
Ky. Acts ch. 307, sec. 11, effective April 9, 1992. -- Amended 1987 (1st Extra. Sess.)
Ky. Acts ch. 1, sec. 52, effective October 26, 1987. -- Amended 1986 Ky. Acts ch.
271, sec. 1, effective July 15, 1986. -- Amended 1976 Ky. Acts ch. 161, sec. 3. --
Created 1972 Ky. Acts ch. 78, sec. 4, effective January 1, 1973.
Legislative Research Commission Note (12/12/96). 1996 (1st Extra. Sess.) Ky. Acts
ch. 1, sec. 28 stated that it was amending this statute, but the proposed changes to the
statute were eliminated by legislative action on this Act although the statute itself was
not deleted from the bill.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
44
cases (
4 in the last 5 years), 1975–2025 · leading case:
Hubbard v. Henry, 231 S.W.3d 124 (Ky. 2007).
Hubbard v. Henry, 231 S.W.3d 124 (Ky. 2007).
· cites it 17× “OPINION OF THE COURT KRS 342.640 lists various kinds of workers that Chapter 342 considers to be employees.”
Abel Verdon Constr. v. Rivera, 348 S.W.3d 749 (Ky. 2011).
· cites it 8× “KRS 342.640. KRS 342.640 provides workers' compensation coverage to "employees," without regard to the legality of the employment relationship.”
Travelers Indem. Co. v. Reker, 100 S.W.3d 756 (Ky. 2003).
· cites it 4× “3d 635, 636 (2000) (enactment of KRS 342.640 and repeal of KRS 342.170 reflect a legislative intent to eliminate any tort remedy for injuries sustained by an illegally employed minor).”
Kentucky Uninsured Employers' Fund v. Hoskins, 449 S.W.3d 753 (Ky. 2014).
· cites it 7× “KRS 342.640 As an additional element in its analysis and in support of its conclusion, the Court of Appeals made passing reference to KRS 342.”
Pike Cnty. Bd. of Educ. v. Mills, 260 S.W.3d 366 (Ky. Ct. App. 2008).
· cites it 5× “The Board of Education would have this Court ignore the unambiguous language contained in KRS 342.640, which defines various classes of employees for purposes of the Act.”
Kentucky Farm & Power Equip. Dealers Ass'n v. Fulkerson Bros., Inc., 631 S.W.2d 633 (Ky. 1982).
· cites it 10× “Since the contract-for-hire language of KRS 342.640 appears only in subsections (1) and (3), it is logical that the legislature did not intend to require proof of a contract-for-hire relationship with executive officers of a corporation.”
Wright v. Fardo, 587 S.W.2d 269 (Ky. Ct. App. 1979).
· cites it 5× “630 gives the coverage of employers; KRS 342.640 lists the coverage of employees; and KRS 342.”
Lowe's No. 0507 v. Greathouse, 182 S.W.3d 524 (Ky. 2006).
· cites it 4× “The Ellis court noted that individuals who do not work under a "contract of hire" are not covered by the Act; however, KRS 342.640(3) provides coverage for volunteer fire, police, and emergency personnel by deeming them to be employees of the political subdivision that they…”
Honaker v. Duro Bag Mfg. Co., 851 S.W.2d 481 (Ky. 1993).
· cites it 4× “Therefore, the court held that KRS 342.640 precludes recovery in this injury claim.”
Mullins v. Manning Coal Corp., 938 S.W.2d 260 (Ky. 1997).
· cites it 2× “Mullins is an employee under the Act as defined by KRS 342.640 and he is covered by the Workers’ Compensation Act.”
Fields v. Twin City Drive-In, 534 S.W.2d 457 (Ky. 1976).
· cites it 4× “The only issue presented is whether an independent contractor is an employee within the terms of KRS 342.640. The Workmen’s Compensation Board found in the negative.”
Toyota Motor Mfg., U.S.A., Inc. v. Epperson, 945 S.W.2d 413 (Ky. 1996).
· cites it 2× “The Court noted that KRS 342.640 defines a covered employee as one who is “in the service of an employer under any contract of hire or apprenticeship, express or implied .”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 342.640(1) — 21 cases
Abel Verdon Constr. v. Rivera, 348 S.W.3d 749 (Ky. 2011).
“KRS 342.640. KRS 342.640 provides workers' compensation coverage to "employees," without regard to the legality of the employment relationship.”
Travelers Indem. Co. v. Reker, 100 S.W.3d 756 (Ky. 2003).
“3d 635, 636 (2000) (enactment of KRS 342.640 and repeal of KRS 342.170 reflect a legislative intent to eliminate any tort remedy for injuries sustained by an illegally employed minor).”
Hubbard v. Henry, 231 S.W.3d 124 (Ky. 2007).
“OPINION OF THE COURT KRS 342.640 lists various kinds of workers that Chapter 342 considers to be employees.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 342.640(2) — 2 cases
Kentucky Farm & Power Equip. Dealers Ass'n v. Fulkerson Bros., Inc., 631 S.W.2d 633 (Ky. 1982).
“Since the contract-for-hire language of KRS 342.640 appears only in subsections (1) and (3), it is logical that the legislature did not intend to require proof of a contract-for-hire relationship with executive officers of a corporation.”
Hubbard v. Henry, 231 S.W.3d 124 (Ky. 2007).
“OPINION OF THE COURT KRS 342.640 lists various kinds of workers that Chapter 342 considers to be employees.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 342.640(3) — 9 cases
Lowe's No. 0507 v. Greathouse, 182 S.W.3d 524 (Ky. 2006).
“The Ellis court noted that individuals who do not work under a "contract of hire" are not covered by the Act; however, KRS 342.640(3) provides coverage for volunteer fire, police, and emergency personnel by deeming them to be employees of the political subdivision that they…”
Hubbard v. Henry, 231 S.W.3d 124 (Ky. 2007).
“OPINION OF THE COURT KRS 342.640 lists various kinds of workers that Chapter 342 considers to be employees.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 342.640(4) — 8 cases
Hubbard v. Henry, 231 S.W.3d 124 (Ky. 2007).
“OPINION OF THE COURT KRS 342.640 lists various kinds of workers that Chapter 342 considers to be employees.”
Pike Cnty. Bd. of Educ. v. Mills, 260 S.W.3d 366 (Ky. Ct. App. 2008).
“The Board of Education would have this Court ignore the unambiguous language contained in KRS 342.640, which defines various classes of employees for purposes of the Act.”
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 342.640(5) — 1 case
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 342.640(l) — 1 case
Hubbard v. Henry, 231 S.W.3d 124 (Ky. 2007).
“OPINION OF THE COURT KRS 342.640 lists various kinds of workers that Chapter 342 considers to be employees.”
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.