New hiring laws in Kansas for 2027: physician assistant collaboration, SLPA licenses, contractor portable benefits and the federal dates to check

As of November 2026, Kansas changed little about hiring in 2026: the 2026 session passed no pay range, salary history, AI hiring, E-Verify or private-employer ban-the-box law. What did change is mostly licensing and worker classification. Since July 1, 2026, a portable benefits law (HB 2602) lets businesses fund benefits for independent contractors without the contributions counting toward employee status, pharmacies may employ remote pharmacists and technicians, nurse anesthetist and APRN applicants are fingerprinted, and child care licensing sits with the new Kansas Office of Early Childhood. From January 1, 2027, experienced physician assistants may practice in collaboration rather than under supervision, and only licensed speech-language pathology assistants may use the title.

Each item below links to the bill on the Kansas Legislature's site and draws on the Kansas Legislative Research Department's 2026 Summary of Legislation, which counts 157 bills that became law in 2026. Most Kansas acts take effect on publication in the statute book, which the Revisor of Statutes says happens on July 1; other dates are noted. The standing checklist (KDOL account, withholding, the K-4, new-hire reporting) is in our Kansas hiring hub; this page is the dated list of what is new.

Which Kansas hiring laws changed in 2026, and what changes in 2027?

Kansas acts and the federal rules that apply to Kansas employers, sorted by date.

What does the Kansas portable benefits law mean for independent contractors?

HB 2602, approved April 6, 2026, sets rules for "portable benefit plans": accounts an independent contractor chooses, run by a bank, credit union, investment management firm or a technology provider working through one, and not administered by the hiring party. The account can pay for health, income replacement, disability or life insurance, or retirement. According to the KLRD summary, any hiring party may contribute; money can be withheld from the contractor's pay only if the contractor opts in through a clear, prominently displayed written agreement, and the contractor may opt out at any time. The key line for recruiters: contributions "cannot be used as a criterion for determining a worker's employment classification." From tax year 2027, both hiring parties and contractors may subtract their contributions from federal adjusted gross income on the Kansas return.

The bill amends only the income tax statute, K.S.A. 79-32,117, and adds new sections. It does not rewrite the tests that decide whether a worker is an employee under Kansas wage, unemployment or workers' compensation law, or under federal law, so a staffing platform that directs the work still carries the risks set out in worker misclassification for staffing agencies.

Which Kansas health care hiring rules changed on July 1, 2026?

• Fingerprints for advanced nursing licenses. HB 2478 requires applicants for an advanced practice registered nurse or registered nurse anesthetist license to be fingerprinted for state and national criminal history record checks. Build that step into start dates for out-of-state APRNs and CRNAs.
• A 30-day renewal grace period. Under HB 2528, the Board of Nursing sends digital renewal notices 60 and 7 days before the renewal date, must grant a renewal within five business days of a complete application, and a license "remains valid and active" for 30 days after the renewal date. If the application and late fee are not in by then, the license lapses and the nurse is no longer eligible to practice. Recheck any license past its date; the tools are in professional license verification for recruiters.
• Nursing faculty. SB 334, which became law without the Governor's signature, requires faculty at state-approved nursing schools to hold a nursing degree at least one level above the degree their program awards, bars the board from demanding more, and allows an exemption for a school facing hardship in hiring faculty.
• Licensure compacts. HB 2533 enacts the Occupational Therapy Licensure Compact, the Respiratory Care Interstate Compact, the Esthetics Licensure Compact and the Athletic Trainer Licensure Compact. KLRD notes that the OT, respiratory care and athletic trainer compacts had reached their activation thresholds as of June 8, 2026. Ask the Kansas board whether compact privileges are being issued before you rely on one for a candidate licensed elsewhere.
• Remote pharmacy work. HB 2068 lets any pharmacy employ a pharmacist, pharmacist intern or pharmacy technician in the "remote practice of pharmacy," meaning practice at a location other than the employing pharmacy, if the Pharmacy Act's requirements are met; the pharmacist-in-charge must display a notice of remote work and keep the records the act lists.

What changes for physician assistants and SLPAs on January 1, 2027?

HB 2702 takes effect January 1, 2027. A physician assistant (the act makes "physician associate" an equivalent title) with fewer than 4,000 hours of postgraduate clinical experience still practices under physician supervision and a written practice agreement. A PA who attests to 4,000 hours or more and has no disciplinary action may practice "in collaboration with a physician or physician group" under a practice agreement kept at the practice site; in a licensed facility, the terms also run through the facility's credentialing and privileging. The State Board of Healing Arts may require fingerprints and a criminal history record check from PA applicants. For hiring, ask PA candidates for their postgraduate clinical hours and plan new practice agreements for January.

HB 2761 creates a speech-language pathology assistant license issued by the Secretary for Aging and Disability Services. Applicants need a bachelor's degree in communication sciences and disorders, another bachelor's degree plus 24 hours of core coursework, or an SLPA certificate, technical or associate program, and 100 clock hours of supervised clinical fieldwork. A supervising speech-language pathologist needs two years of full-time experience, may supervise no more than two full-time or three part-time SLPAs, and must directly supervise at least 10% of each SLPA's client contact time. From January 1, 2027, it is unlawful to represent oneself as an SLPA without a license unless exempt, so schools, clinics and agencies placing SLPAs should collect license numbers before then.

What else changed for Kansas employers?

• CPAs. HB 2573 adds a license path for candidates with a Board-approved accountancy bachelor's degree, two years of work experience under a licensed CPA and a passing exam score, alongside the existing route of a bachelor's degree plus 30 more credit hours, or a master's degree, and one year of experience. A CPA with an active license in good standing from another state and a principal place of business outside Kansas is recognized without registering or paying a fee, if they met the bill's requirements at initial licensure.
• Child care. HB 2045 of 2025 put child care programs under the new Kansas Office of Early Childhood by July 1, 2026, according to the KLRD 2025 summary, and the KDHE child care licensing page now sends providers to that office. The same act lets centers hire assistant teachers from age 16 without educational requirements.
• Recording calls. HB 2479 changed K.S.A. 21-6101, the breach of privacy statute that holds Kansas's one-party rule, so the offense now requires acting "intentionally" rather than "knowingly." Intercepting a call is still lawful with the consent of the sender or receiver; see Kansas recording consent for interviews and, for candidates in other states, their state's rule.
• PEOs. HB 2092 of 2025 made registrations expire each October 15 and set the registrations issued since January 1, 2025 to expire on October 15, 2026; renewals need an audit no older than 12 months. See employer of record in Kansas.
• State jobs. HB 2237 raises the yearly cap on state employee hiring, recruitment and retention awards from $3,500 to $10,000; Executive Branch awards above $3,500 need the Governor's approval, with listed exceptions.

Which federal changes apply to Kansas employers in 2026 and 2027?

• Form I-9. USCIS lists the 01/20/25 edition as current and allows the 08/01/23 edition until its 05/31/2027 expiration date; electronic I-9 systems had to move to the 05/31/2027 version by July 31, 2026.
• Work permits. The DHS final rule of October 14, 2026 finalizes the October 30, 2025 interim rule that ended automatic extensions for EAD renewals in certain categories; reverification steps are in the EAD automatic extension guide.
• E-Verify. Kansas has no E-Verify mandate (see E-Verify requirements in Kansas), but voluntary users and federal contractors should note two changes: the Status Change Report now flags cases tied to EADs DHS later invalidated in categories A12, C08, C09, C11 and C19, and employers have until January 8, 2027 to download the Historical Records Report for cases last updated on or before December 31, 2016.
• Federal contractors. The Labor Department's final rule rescinded the Executive Order 11246 regulations effective October 26, 2026, after Executive Order 14173 revoked the order. What remains for contractors' job postings is in job posting requirements for federal contractors.
• Criminal history. The EEOC rescinded its 2012 arrest and conviction records guidance on October 28, 2026 (EEOC release). Title VII still applies, and a job-related review using the Green factors from the 1975 Eighth Circuit case (the nature and gravity of the offense, the time since it and the nature of the job) remains a sound way to decide. Kansas's own rules are in Kansas background check laws.

What did not change in Kansas?

• No pay range or salary history law; see Kansas pay transparency and the Kansas salary history page.
• No private-employer ban-the-box rule; state executive branch jobs follow Executive Order 18-12, described in ban the box in Kansas.
• Non-competes are still judged under the Kansas Supreme Court's reasonableness test, with the non-solicit safe harbors in K.S.A. 50-163; see Kansas non-compete law.
• No AI hiring law. The 2026 acts that mention artificial intelligence, HB 2479 and HB 2537, are criminal provisions on altered images, not rules for employers.
• Drug testing still has no private-employer statute and no medical cannabis program; see Kansas drug testing laws.

What should Kansas employers do before January 1, 2027?

1. Update PA practice agreements and job ads for the 4,000-hour collaboration rule.
2. Collect SLPA license numbers from everyone working under that title.
3. Add a 30-day check for nursing licenses past their renewal date, and fingerprint time to APRN and CRNA start dates.
4. Put contractor benefit withholding in writing, with opt-in and opt-out terms, if you contribute to portable benefit plans.
5. Download the E-Verify Historical Records Report by January 8, 2027 if you have cases from 2016 or earlier, and record case numbers on the matching Forms I-9.
6. Check Form I-9 editions and EAD reverification dates, and remove references to the 2012 EEOC guidance from background check procedures.

What does this mean for staffing agencies in Kansas?

Most of the 2026 changes land on health care staffing: fingerprinting adds time before an APRN or CRNA can start, the 30-day grace period changes how a lapsed license is handled mid-assignment, school and clinic clients will ask for SLPA licenses from January, and remote pharmacy technician roles are now possible for Kansas pharmacies. Platforms that place independent contractors can fund portable benefits under HB 2602 without that payment counting against them, but the rest of the classification analysis is unchanged. PEOs whose registrations expired on October 15, 2026 need to be renewed. Licensing for agencies themselves is covered in our Kansas staffing agency guide, and other states' 2027 changes are in new hiring laws for 2027.