Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

Tennessee Senate Bill SB1357 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 1357
5	5	By Akbari
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7	7
8	8	SB1357
9	9	003061
10	10	- 1 -
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12	12	AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 8-
13	13	23-203; Title 12 and Title 50, Chapter 2, relative to
14	14	the minimum wage.
15	15
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 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" includes an individual, partnership, association,
31	31	corporation, business trust, legal representative, or any organized group or
32	32	persons acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an
33	33	employee; and
34	34	(6) "Wages" means compensation paid to an employee in the form of
35	35	legal tender of the United States or checks or drafts on banks negotiable into
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37	37
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40	40	cash on demand or upon acceptance at full value. Wages may include the
41	41	reasonable cost to the employer, as determined by the commissioner, of
42	42	furnishing meals or lodging to an employee, if furnished by the employer and
43	43	used by the employee.
44	44	(b) An employer shall pay an employee wages at an hourly rate not less than the
45	45	greater of:
46	46	(1) The federal minimum wage established pursuant to the federal Fair
47	47	Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.), as amended; or
48	48	(2) Twenty dollars ($20.00) an hour.
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 subject to this section shall keep a summary of this section and
53	53	any applicable wage rules posted in a conspicuous and accessible place in or about the
54	54	premises of the employer's place of business.
55	55	(e) An employer who violates the minimum wage requirements of this section is
56	56	liable to the employee affected for the amount of unpaid minimum wages. Upon a
57	57	judgment being rendered in favor of an employee in an action brought in a court of
58	58	competent jurisdiction to recover unpaid wages under this section, the judgment must
59	59	include, in addition to the unpaid wages adjudged to be due, an amount equal to the
60	60	unpaid wages as damages. In addition to a judgment awarded to the employee, the
61	61	court shall require the employer to pay court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees
62	62	incurred by the employee.
63	63	(f) An action to recover damages pursuant to this section must be instituted
64	64	within two (2) years from the date the wages were due, except in a case where the
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69	69	complaint filed with the court alleges the employer willfully violated this section, then the
70	70	action to recover damages must be instituted within three (3) years.
71	71	(g) In the administration of this section, the commissioner shall cooperate, to the
72	72	fullest extent with this section, with the administrator of the wage and hour division of the
73	73	United States department of labor.
74	74	(h) This section does not affect or in any way diminish the right of employees to
75	75	bargain collectively through representatives of the employees' own choosing in order to
76	76	establish wages in excess of the applicable minimum wages under this section.
77	77	(i) Employees excluded pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 213 are exempt from this
78	78	section to the same extent the employees are exempt under the federal law.
79	79	(j) Within existing resources of the department, the commissioner shall
80	80	promulgate rules to effectuate this section that are consistent with the federal Fair Labor
81	81	Standards Act of 1938. The rules must be promulgated in accordance with the Uniform
82	82	Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.
83	83	SECTION 2. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance
84	84	is held invalid, then the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the act that
85	85	can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to that end, the provisions of
86	86	this act are severable.
87	87	SECTION 3. For purposes of promulgating rules, this act takes effect upon becoming a
88	88	law, the public welfare requiring it. For all other purposes, this act takes effect July 1, 2025, the
89	89	public welfare requiring it.