Ky. Rev. Stat. » Chapter 61
Kentucky Revised Statutes

Ky. Rev. Stat. § 61.101 (2026)

Definitions

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section KY-LRCapps.legislature.ky.gov JustiaChapter on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

As used in KRS 61.102 and 61.103, unless the context requires otherwise: (1) "Employee" means a person in the service of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, or any of its political subdivisions, who is under contract of hire, express or implied, oral or written, where the Commonwealth, or any of its political subdivisions, has the power or right to control and direct the material details of work performance; (2) "Employer" means the Commonwealth of Kentucky or any of its political subdivisions. Employer also includes any person authorized to act on behalf of the Commonwealth, or any of its political subdivisions, with respect to formulation of policy or the supervision, in a managerial capacity, of subordinate employees; and (3) "Official request" means a request from members of the Kentucky General Assembly and its employees; members of the Legislative Research Commission and its committees and employees; the Auditor of Public Accounts and his employees; the Attorney General and his employees; the Governor and employees of the Governor's office; and members of the press. Effective: July 15, 1986 History: Created 1986 Ky. Acts ch. 301, sec. 1, effective July 15, 1986.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 44 cases (18 in the last 5 years), 1995–2026 · leading case: Cabinet for Families & Child. v. Cummings, 163 S.W.3d 425 (Ky. 2005).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Cabinet for Families & Child. v. Cummings, 163 S.W.3d 425 (Ky. 2005). · cites it 34× “The statutory language pertinent to this issue is as follows: KRS 61.101. ... (2) "Employer" means the Commonwealth of Kentucky or any of its political subdivisions.”
Garcetti v. Ceballos, 547 U.S. 410 (2006). · cites it 2× “§ 378-61 (1993); Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 61.101 (West 2005); Mass.”
Workforce Dev. Cabinet v. Gaines, 276 S.W.3d 789 (Ky. 2008). · cites it 6× “The Kentucky Whistleblower Act, codified at KRS 61.101 et seq., provides as follows: No employer shall subject to reprisal, or directly or indirectly use, or threaten to use, any official authority or influence, in any manner whatsoever, which tends to discourage, restrain,…”
Commonwealth Dep't of Agric. v. Vinson, 30 S.W.3d 162 (Ky. 2000). · cites it 8× “This appeal is from an opinion of the Court of Appeals which affirmed a judgment of the circuit court awarding a total of $1 million in punitive damages and a permanent injunction against the Department of Agriculture for violations of the Kentucky Whistleblower Act, KRS 61.101…”
Wilson v. City of Cent. City, 372 S.W.3d 863 (Ky. 2012). · cites it 5× “ANALYSIS Wilson argues that Kentucky’s Whistleblower Act, codified at KRS 61.101 et seq., applies to cities as employers.”
Lewis-Smith v. W. Kentucky Univ., 85 F. Supp. 3d 885 (W.D. Ky. 2015). · cites it 2× “040, and the Kentucky Whistleblower Act (“KWA”), KRS 61.101 — .103, 61.990 — .991, as well as a wrongful discharge claim.”
Pennyrile Allied Cmty. Servs., Inc. v. Rogers, 459 S.W.3d 339 (Ky. 2015). · cites it 2× “As noted previously, KRS 61.101 defines the public employees and employ *343 ers covered by the act.”
Ivey v. McCreary Cnty. Fiscal Court, 939 F. Supp. 2d 762 (E.D. Ky. 2013). · cites it 3× “The Iveys’ final state law claim against which the McCreary County Defendants raise immunity as a defense is for violations of -the Kentucky Whistleblower Act, codified-at KRS 61.101 et seq. The purpose of this Act “is -to protect employees who possess knowledge of wrongdoing…”
Miller v. Admin. Off. of the Courts, 361 S.W.3d 867 (Ky. 2011). “(In Cummings , citing KRS 61.101(2), we held that employees of the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions do not have individual civil liability for violation of the whistleblower protection statute.”
Stewart v. Univ. of Louisville, 65 S.W.3d 536 (Ky. Ct. App. 2001). “] KRS 61.101(1). The first issue is whether the trial court properly awarded the university summary judgment on Stewart’s claims under KRS Chapter 344 and KRS Chapter 61.”
N. Kentucky Area Plan. Comm'n v. Cloyd, 332 S.W.3d 91 (Ky. Ct. App. 2010). “KRS 61.101(2) provides in relevant part that for purposes of the Whistleblower Act, “ ‘Employer’ means the Commonwealth of Kentucky or any of its political subdivisions.”
Davis v. Powell's Valley Water Dist., 920 S.W.2d 75 (Ky. Ct. App. 1995). · cites it 2× “ees of Powell’s Valley, and as such, their employment could be terminated by Powell’s Valley at any time, with or without cause; (b) It is the finding of this Court that while Powell’s Valley may be an instrumentality of the Commonwealth of Kentucky for certain limited purposes,…”
Show all 44 citing cases →
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 61.101(1) — 5 cases
Cabinet for Families & Child. v. Cummings, 163 S.W.3d 425 (Ky. 2005). “The statutory language pertinent to this issue is as follows: KRS 61.101. ... (2) "Employer" means the Commonwealth of Kentucky or any of its political subdivisions.”
Stewart v. Univ. of Louisville, 65 S.W.3d 536 (Ky. Ct. App. 2001). “] KRS 61.101(1). The first issue is whether the trial court properly awarded the university summary judgment on Stewart’s claims under KRS Chapter 344 and KRS Chapter 61.”
Wilson v. City of Cent. City, 372 S.W.3d 863 (Ky. 2012). “ANALYSIS Wilson argues that Kentucky’s Whistleblower Act, codified at KRS 61.101 et seq., applies to cities as employers.”
Cottrell v. Greenwell (W.D. Ky. 2021).
Paul Kearney, M.D. v. Univ. of Kentucky (Ky. 2022).
— Ky. Rev. Stat. § 61.101(2) — 23 cases
Cabinet for Families & Child. v. Cummings, 163 S.W.3d 425 (Ky. 2005). “The statutory language pertinent to this issue is as follows: KRS 61.101. ... (2) "Employer" means the Commonwealth of Kentucky or any of its political subdivisions.”
Workforce Dev. Cabinet v. Gaines, 276 S.W.3d 789 (Ky. 2008). “The Kentucky Whistleblower Act, codified at KRS 61.101 et seq., provides as follows: No employer shall subject to reprisal, or directly or indirectly use, or threaten to use, any official authority or influence, in any manner whatsoever, which tends to discourage, restrain,…”
Miller v. Admin. Off. of the Courts, 361 S.W.3d 867 (Ky. 2011). “(In Cummings , citing KRS 61.101(2), we held that employees of the Commonwealth and its political subdivisions do not have individual civil liability for violation of the whistleblower protection statute.”
Wilson v. City of Cent. City, 372 S.W.3d 863 (Ky. 2012). “ANALYSIS Wilson argues that Kentucky’s Whistleblower Act, codified at KRS 61.101 et seq., applies to cities as employers.”
N. Kentucky Area Plan. Comm'n v. Cloyd, 332 S.W.3d 91 (Ky. Ct. App. 2010). “KRS 61.101(2) provides in relevant part that for purposes of the Whistleblower Act, “ ‘Employer’ means the Commonwealth of Kentucky or any of its political subdivisions.”
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.