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HOUSE BILL 2248
By Johnson
SENATE BILL 2495
By Kyle
SB2495
012044
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AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4;
Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 9; Title 13; Title 29;
Title 47; Title 50; Title 57; Title 58; Title 65; Title 67
and Title 68, relative to wages.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 50, Chapter 2, Part 1, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:50-2-116.
(a) As used in this section:
(1) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of labor and workforce
development;
(2) "Department" means the department of labor and workforce
development;
(3) "Employ" means to permit or suffer to work in employment or a gainful
occupation;
(4) "Employee" means a person born or naturalized in the United States
and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, or a person legally present in this country,
either of whom is employed by an employer;
(5) "Employer":
(A) Means a person or entity that employs one (1) or more
employees; and
(B) Includes an individual, partnership, association, corporation,
business trust, legal representative, or organized group or persons acting
directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an
employee; and
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(6) "Wages":
(A) Means compensation paid to an employee in the form of legal
tender of the United States or checks or drafts on banks negotiable into
cash on demand or upon acceptance at full value; and
(B) Includes the reasonable cost to the employer, as determined
by the commissioner, of furnishing meals or lodging to an employee, if
furnished by the employer and used by the employee.
(b) An employer shall pay an employee wages at an hourly rate of no less than
the greater of:
(1) The federal minimum wage established pursuant to the federal Fair
Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.); or
(2) The state minimum wage rate established pursuant to subsection (c).
(c)
(1) On and after January 1, 2027, the state minimum wage is twenty
dollars ($20.00) an hour.
(2) Beginning January 1, 2028, and on January 1 of each year thereafter,
the commissioner shall adjust the state minimum wage by the percentage
change in the consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U), U.S. city
average, for all items, or its successor index, as published by the United States
department of labor, bureau of labor statistics, for the twelve-month period
ending on August 31 of the preceding year.
(3) The commissioner shall calculate the adjusted rate to the nearest
five-cent interval.
(4) The commissioner shall not reduce the adjusted rate if the CPI-U, or
its successor index, decreases.
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(5) The commissioner shall publish the adjusted state minimum wage
rate for the upcoming year on the department's website by October 1 of each
year.
(d) Notwithstanding subsection (b), an employer shall not pay an employee less
than one and one-half (1.5) times the regular wage rate for work done by the employee
in excess of forty (40) hours during a work week.
(e) An employer subject to this section shall keep a summary of this section and
applicable wage rules posted in a conspicuous and accessible place in or about the
premises of the employer's place of business.
(f) An employer who violates the minimum wage requirements of this section is
liable to the employee affected for the amount of unpaid minimum wages. Upon a
judgment being rendered in favor of an employee in an action brought in a court of
competent jurisdiction to recover unpaid wages under this section, the judgment must
include, in addition to the unpaid wages adjudged to be due, an amount equal to the
unpaid wages as damages. In addition to a judgment awarded to the employee, the
court shall require the employer to pay court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees
incurred by the employee.
(g) An action to recover damages pursuant to this section must be instituted
within two (2) years from the date the wages were due; provided, that, if the complaint
filed with the court alleges the employer willfully violated this section, then the action to
recover damages must be instituted within three (3) years.
(h) In the administration of this section, the commissioner shall cooperate with
the administrator of the wage and hour division of the United States department of labor
to the fullest extent possible.
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(i) This section does not affect the right of employees to bargain collectively
through representatives of the employees' own choosing in order to establish wages in
excess of the applicable minimum wages under this section.
(j) Employees excluded pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 213 are exempt from this
section to the same extent the employees are exempt under the federal law.
(k) Within existing resources of the department, the commissioner shall
promulgate rules to effectuate this section that are consistent with the federal Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1938. The rules must be promulgated in accordance with the Uniform
Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter 5.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.