Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

Tennessee Senate Bill SB1190 Compare Versions

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

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2	2	<BillNo> <Sponsor>
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4	4	SENATE BILL 1190
5	5	By Akbari
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8	8	SB1190
9	9	001439
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12	12	AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8,
13	13	Chapter 23; Title 12, Chapter 4, Part 4 and Title
14	14	50, Chapter 2, relative to minimum wage.
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16	16	BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
17	17	SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 50, Chapter 2, Part 1, is amended by
18	18	adding the following language as a new section:
19	19	50-2-116.
20	20	(a) As used in this section:
21	21	(1) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of labor and workforce
22	22	development;
23	23	(2) "Department" means the department of labor and workforce
24	24	development;
25	25	(3) "Employ" means to permit or suffer to work in employment or a gainful
26	26	occupation;
27	27	(4) "Employee" means a person born or naturalized in the United States
28	28	and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, or a person legally present in this country,
29	29	either of whom is employed by an employer;
30	30	(5) "Employer" means an individual, partnership, association,
31	31	corporation, business trust, legal representative, or any organized group or
32	32	persons, not involved in interstate commerce, acting directly or indirectly in the
33	33	interest of an employer in relation to an employee; and
34	34	(6) "Wages":
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36	36
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39	39	(A) Means compensation paid to an employee in the form of legal
40	40	tender of the United States or checks or drafts on banks negotiable into
41	41	cash on demand or upon acceptance at full value; and
42	42	(B) May include the reasonable cost to the employer, as
43	43	determined by the commissioner, of furnishing meals or lodging to an
44	44	employee, if furnished by the employer and used by the employee.
45	45	(b) An employer shall pay an employee wages at an hourly rate not less than the
46	46	federal minimum wage established pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29
47	47	U.S.C. § 201 et seq.), as amended, or twenty dollars ($20.00), whichever rate is greater.
48	48	(c) Notwithstanding subsection (b), an employer shall not pay an employee less
49	49	than one and one-half (1.5) times the regular wage rate for any work done by the
50	50	employee in excess of forty (40) hours during a work week.
51	51	(d) An employer who violates the minimum wage requirements of this section is
52	52	liable to the employee affected for the amount of unpaid minimum wages. Upon a
53	53	judgment being rendered in favor of an employee in an action brought in a court of
54	54	competent jurisdiction to recover unpaid wages under this section, the judgment must
55	55	include, in addition to the unpaid wages adjudged to be due, an amount equal to such
56	56	wages as damages. In addition to any judgment awarded to the employee, the court
57	57	shall require the employer to pay court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees incurred by
58	58	the employee.
59	59	(e) In the administration of this section, the commissioner shall cooperate, to the
60	60	fullest extent with this section, with the administrator of the wage and hour division of the
61	61	United States department of labor.
62	62	(f) Employees excluded pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 213 are exempt from this
63	63	section to the same extent such employees are exempt under the federal law.
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68	68	(g) Within existing resources of the department, the commissioner shall
69	69	promulgate rules to effectuate the purposes of this section that are consistent with the
70	70	Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.). The rules must be
71	71	promulgated in accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in
72	72	title 4, chapter 5.
73	73	SECTION 2. For purposes of promulgating rules, this act takes effect upon becoming
74	74	law, the public welfare requiring it. For all other purposes, this act takes effect January 1, 2026,
75	75	the public welfare requiring it.