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Read. Follow. Verify.Kentucky Bill HB 938 Doubles Maximum Workplace Safety Penalties and Adds Annual Inflation Adjustments
Last action · March 11, 2026: to Economic Development & Workforce Investment (H)Sponsor: Beverly Chester-Burton
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What This Bill Proposed
Kentucky HB 938 doubles the maximum civil penalties for willful, serious, and non-serious workplace safety violations and requires annual cost-of-living adjustments starting in 2026. The legislation doubles willful violation fines from up to $70,000 to up to $140,000, and raises serious and other violation maximums from $7,000 to $14,000. It also establishes a three-year phase-in period for these increased penalty maximums beginning August 1, 2026.
Employers across Kentucky face significantly higher financial liabilities for safety citations, while the state ties future penalty caps to consumer price index inflation metrics.
- The General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Kentucky responsible for enacting state laws. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Employers
Employers face doubled maximum civil penalties for workplace safety citations and mandatory annual inflation-based adjustments starting August 1, 2026.
Review Commission
The review commission retains and exercises authority to modify civil penalties and suspend correction time periods during appeals.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much can employers be fined for willful safety violations under this bill?
Are de minimis violations subject to civil penalties?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
2 actions- Mar 11, 2026HouseCommitteeto Economic Development & Workforce Investment (H)
- Mar 4, 2026HouseIntroducedintroduced in House to Committee on Committees (H)
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Connected Entities
Sources
apps.legislature.ky.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 65)
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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