Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

Tennessee House Bill HB1216 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2	SENATE BILL 1190
3	3	By Akbari
4	4
5	5	HOUSE BILL 1216
6	6	By Johnson
7	7
8	8
9	9	HB1216
10	10	001439
11	11	- 1 -
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13	13	AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8,
14	14	Chapter 23; Title 12, Chapter 4, Part 4 and Title
15	15	50, Chapter 2, relative to minimum wage.
16	16
17	17	BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
18	18	SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 50, Chapter 2, Part 1, is amended by
19	19	adding the following language as a new section:
20	20	50-2-116.
21	21	(a) As used in this section:
22	22	(1) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of labor and workforce
23	23	development;
24	24	(2) "Department" means the department of labor and workforce
25	25	development;
26	26	(3) "Employ" means to permit or suffer to work in employment or a gainful
27	27	occupation;
28	28	(4) "Employee" means a person born or naturalized in the United States
29	29	and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, or a person legally present in this country,
30	30	either of whom is employed by an employer;
31	31	(5) "Employer" means an individual, partnership, association,
32	32	corporation, business trust, legal representative, or any organized group or
33	33	persons, not involved in interstate commerce, acting directly or indirectly in the
34	34	interest of an employer in relation to an employee; and
35	35	(6) "Wages":
36	36
37	37
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40	40	(A) Means compensation paid to an employee in the form of legal
41	41	tender of the United States or checks or drafts on banks negotiable into
42	42	cash on demand or upon acceptance at full value; and
43	43	(B) May include the reasonable cost to the employer, as
44	44	determined by the commissioner, of furnishing meals or lodging to an
45	45	employee, if furnished by the employer and used by the employee.
46	46	(b) An employer shall pay an employee wages at an hourly rate not less than the
47	47	federal minimum wage established pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29
48	48	U.S.C. § 201 et seq.), as amended, or twenty dollars ($20.00), whichever rate is greater.
49	49	(c) Notwithstanding subsection (b), an employer shall not pay an employee less
50	50	than one and one-half (1.5) times the regular wage rate for any work done by the
51	51	employee in excess of forty (40) hours during a work week.
52	52	(d) An employer who violates the minimum wage requirements of this section is
53	53	liable to the employee affected for the amount of unpaid minimum wages. Upon a
54	54	judgment being rendered in favor of an employee in an action brought in a court of
55	55	competent jurisdiction to recover unpaid wages under this section, the judgment must
56	56	include, in addition to the unpaid wages adjudged to be due, an amount equal to such
57	57	wages as damages. In addition to any judgment awarded to the employee, the court
58	58	shall require the employer to pay court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by
59	59	the employee.
60	60	(e) In the administration of this section, the commissioner shall cooperate, to the
61	61	fullest extent with this section, with the administrator of the wage and hour division of the
62	62	United States department of labor.
63	63	(f) Employees excluded pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 213 are exempt from this
64	64	section to the same extent such employees are exempt under the federal law.
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66	66
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69	69	(g) Within existing resources of the department, the commissioner shall
70	70	promulgate rules to effectuate the purposes of this section that are consistent with the
71	71	Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.). The rules must be
72	72	promulgated in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in
73	73	title 4, chapter 5.
74	74	SECTION 2. For purposes of promulgating rules, this act takes effect upon becoming
75	75	law, the public welfare requiring it. For all other purposes, this act takes effect January 1, 2026,
76	76	the public welfare requiring it.