Kentucky Bill Would Exempt Unpaid Pastors from Workers’ Comp Insurance

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Kentucky House lawmakers have advanced a bill that would exempt some pastors from paying workers’ compensation insurance.

Kentucky has hundreds of churches with tiny congregations whose pastors work for free. The state fined some of those churches last year because they did not carry workers’ compensation insurance. Republican Rep. Michael Meredith of Brownsville filed a bill that would exempt pastors and church caretakers who are unpaid and work fewer than 10 hours per week.

Meredith said sometimes these pastors receive an offering from the congregation, but that does not count as a salary because it is not a fixed regular payment.

The House Labor and Industry Committee approved the bill and sent it to the full House of Representatives.