Tennessee SB 2126: Salaries and Benefits - As introduced, increases, from $7.25 to $15, the minimum hourly wage for employees within the state. - Amends TCA Section 8-23-203; Title 12 and Title 50, Chapter 2.

Bill Text

<BillNo> <Sponsor>

SENATE BILL 2126
By Kyle

SB2126
011419
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AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 8-
23-203; Title 12 and Title 50, Chapter 2, relative to
the minimum wage.

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:
50-2-115.
(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 an individual born or naturalized in the United
States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, or an individual legally present in
this country, either of whom is employed by an employer;
(5) "Employer" includes an individual, partnership, association,
corporation, business trust, legal representative, or any organized group or
persons acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an
employee; and
(6) "Wages" means compensation paid to an employee in the form of
legal tender of the United States or checks or drafts on banks negotiable into

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cash on demand or upon acceptance at full value. Wages may include 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 not less than the
greater of:
(1) The federal minimum wage established pursuant to the Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.), as amended; or
(2) Fifteen dollars ($15.00) an hour.
(c) Notwithstanding subsection (b), an employer shall not pay an employee less
than one and one-half (1.5) times the regular wage rate for any work done by the
employee in excess of forty (40) hours during a work week.
(d) An employer subject to this section shall keep a summary of this section and
any applicable wage rules posted in a conspicuous and accessible place in or about the
premises of the employer's place of business.
(e) 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 attorney fees incurred
by the employee bringing the action.
(f) An action to recover damages pursuant to this section must be instituted
within two (2) years from the date the wages were due, except in a case where the

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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.
(g) In the administration of this section, the commissioner shall cooperate, to the
fullest extent with this section, with the administrator of the wage and hour division of the
United States department of labor.
(h) This section does not affect or diminish the right of an employee to bargain
collectively through representatives of the employee's own choosing in order to establish
wages in excess of the applicable minimum wages under this section.
(i) 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.
(j) Within existing resources of the department, the commissioner shall
promulgate rules to effectuate this section that are consistent with the Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.). The rules must be promulgated in
accordance with the Uniform Administrative Procedures Act, compiled in title 4, chapter
5.
SECTION 2. If any provision of this section or its application to any person or
circumstance is held invalid, then the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of
the act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to that end, the
provisions of this act are severable.
SECTION 3. For purposes of promulgating rules, this act takes effect upon becoming a
law, the public welfare requiring it. For all other purposes, this act takes effect January 1, 2025,
the public welfare requiring it.