Tennessee Minimum Wage
What are Minimum Wages in Tennessee?
What's the minimum wage in Tennessee? For entrepreneurs and small business owners with employees, it's important to know whether your state has a minimum wage law. Information on minimum wages can be tough to find so we've done the research for you. Here's the minimum wage for Tennessee.
As of January 1, 2021, Tennessee is one of five states that do not have a minimum wage law.
Other states that do not have a minimum wage law are Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina.
As of January 1, 2011, the Federal minimum wage rate is $7.25. The federal Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA) ensures that most Tennessee businesses must pay this minimum rate.
Democratic legislators in the House support establishing a state minimum wage, but they face an uphill battle. They recently introduced the Tennessee Minimum Wage Act, which would have required employers to pay workers at least $15 per hour after July 1, 2020. The bill was quickly killed by Republican legislators who oppose increasing the Tennessee minimum wage.
Tennessee has the highest proportion of minimum wage workers in the country. In 2012, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that there were 86,000 minimum wage workers in Tennessee, equivalent to 5.50 percent of the hourly workforce. More recent BLS statistics suggest there are 117,000 workers who are paid at or below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. That would suggest that 7.4 percent of Tennessee's workforce earned at or below the minimum wage.
Please realize that the Tennessee minimum wages cited above may have changed since we posted this minimum wage information. State minimum wages can change because new laws are enacted or because old laws contained scheduled increases. You should also be aware that state law often exempts particular company types, occupations and industries. To get the latest minimum wages for Tennessee, visit www.dol.gov.
Last Updated: January 4, 2021.
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