Request By:
Honorable Thomas P. Luckett
Union County Judge
Morganfield, Kentucky 42437
Opinion
Opinion By: Robert F. Stephens, Attorney General; By: Martin Glazer, Assistant Attorney General
County judges are not eligible to receive unemployment compensation, since the law, KRS 341.055(3), excludes political subdivisions unless they have elected coverage. No county in Kentucky has elected coverage.
It is doubtful that prior earnings would allow unemployment compensation. The earnings would have to be inclusive earnings within 18 months of unemployment. Where a judge resigned covered employment to fill out an unexpired term, he would not be covered, because he voluntarily quit his covered employment.
It would be a rare instance when a county judge would get unemployment compensation from his former employment.