Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

Tennessee House Bill HB1399 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2	SENATE BILL 1357
3	3	By Akbari
4	4
5	5	HOUSE BILL 1399
6	6	By Pearson
7	7
8	8
9	9	HB1399
10	10	003061
11	11	- 1 -
12	12
13	13	AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 8-
14	14	23-203; Title 12 and Title 50, Chapter 2, relative to
15	15	the 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 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" includes an individual, partnership, association,
32	32	corporation, business trust, legal representative, or any organized group or
33	33	persons acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an
34	34	employee; and
35	35	(6) "Wages" means compensation paid to an employee in the form of
36	36	legal tender of the United States or checks or drafts on banks negotiable into
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38	38
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41	41	cash on demand or upon acceptance at full value. Wages may include the
42	42	reasonable cost to the employer, as determined by the commissioner, of
43	43	furnishing meals or lodging to an employee, if furnished by the employer and
44	44	used by the employee.
45	45	(b) An employer shall pay an employee wages at an hourly rate not less than the
46	46	greater of:
47	47	(1) The federal minimum wage established pursuant to the federal Fair
48	48	Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.), as amended; or
49	49	(2) Twenty dollars ($20.00) an hour.
50	50	(c) Notwithstanding subsection (b), an employer shall not pay an employee less
51	51	than one and one-half (1.5) times the regular wage rate for any work done by the
52	52	employee in excess of forty (40) hours during a work week.
53	53	(d) An employer subject to this section shall keep a summary of this section and
54	54	any applicable wage rules posted in a conspicuous and accessible place in or about the
55	55	premises of the employer's place of business.
56	56	(e) An employer who violates the minimum wage requirements of this section is
57	57	liable to the employee affected for the amount of unpaid minimum wages. Upon a
58	58	judgment being rendered in favor of an employee in an action brought in a court of
59	59	competent jurisdiction to recover unpaid wages under this section, the judgment must
60	60	include, in addition to the unpaid wages adjudged to be due, an amount equal to the
61	61	unpaid wages as damages. In addition to a judgment awarded to the employee, the
62	62	court shall require the employer to pay court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees
63	63	incurred by the employee.
64	64	(f) An action to recover damages pursuant to this section must be instituted
65	65	within two (2) years from the date the wages were due, except in a case where the
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67	67
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70	70	complaint filed with the court alleges the employer willfully violated this section, then the
71	71	action to recover damages must be instituted within three (3) years.
72	72	(g) In the administration of this section, the commissioner shall cooperate, to the
73	73	fullest extent with this section, with the administrator of the wage and hour division of the
74	74	United States department of labor.
75	75	(h) This section does not affect or in any way diminish the right of employees to
76	76	bargain collectively through representatives of the employees' own choosing in order to
77	77	establish wages in excess of the applicable minimum wages under this section.
78	78	(i) Employees excluded pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 213 are exempt from this
79	79	section to the same extent the employees are exempt under the federal law.
80	80	(j) Within existing resources of the department, the commissioner shall
81	81	promulgate rules to effectuate this section that are consistent with the federal Fair Labor
82	82	Standards Act of 1938. The rules must be promulgated in accordance with the Uniform
83	83	Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.
84	84	SECTION 2. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance
85	85	is held invalid, then the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the act that
86	86	can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to that end, the provisions of
87	87	this act are severable.
88	88	SECTION 3. For purposes of promulgating rules, this act takes effect upon becoming a
89	89	law, the public welfare requiring it. For all other purposes, this act takes effect July 1, 2025, the
90	90	public welfare requiring it.