{"id":376514,"date":"2016-03-31T21:36:48","date_gmt":"2016-04-01T02:36:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/state\/tennessee-law\/tennessee-wage-and-hour-laws.html"},"modified":"2024-10-08T12:17:19","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T17:17:19","slug":"tennessee-wage-and-hour-laws","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/state\/tennessee-law\/tennessee-wage-and-hour-laws.html","title":{"rendered":"Tennessee Wage and Hour Laws"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Tennessee Wage and Hour Laws<\/h1>\n
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\n By Amber Sheppard, Esq.<\/a> | Legally reviewed by Amber Sheppard, Esq.<\/a>\n | Last updated\n
\n \n <\/i>\n Legally Reviewed\n <\/summary>\n\n
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This article has been written and reviewed for legal accuracy, clarity, and style by FindLaw\u2019s team of legal writers and attorneys<\/a> and in accordance with our editorial standards<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n\n

\n \n <\/i>\n Fact-Checked\n <\/summary>\n\n
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The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n<\/section>\n

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets the federal minimum wage<\/a>, but states can have their own wage-and-hour laws. Tennessee must follow federal labor laws that dictate minimum support for employees besides Tennessee labor laws.<\/p>\r\n

Tennessee’s wage and working hour laws are in the table below.<\/p>\r\n

Code Sections<\/b><\/h2>\r\n

Tennessee Code Title 50: Employer and Employee<\/a> covers Tennessee wage laws.<\/p>\r\n

Minimum Wage<\/b><\/h2>\r\n

The state of Tennessee’s minimum wage is $7.25 (2024). This is the same amount as the federal minimum wage. Tennessee doesn’t have a separate, higher minimum wage<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

Prevailing Wage<\/b><\/h2>\r\n

Ranges from $12.89 to $26.23 per hour<\/a> in 2014. The Tennessee Prevailing Wage Commission sets the rate of state-funded highway construction projects each year based on an annual survey of each industry and appropriate rates.<\/p>\r\n

Overtime<\/b><\/h2>\r\n

Tennessee does not have any overtime<\/a> laws. This means federal law applies to eligible employees. According to federal law, employees must get overtime pay of at least 1.5 times the employee’s regular rate when working over 40 hours a week.<\/p>\r\n

Child Labor Laws<\/b><\/h2>\r\n

In Tennessee, children who are 14 years old<\/a> can work. But they can’t work more than three hours a day, 18 hours a week, or later than 7 p.m. in a school year until they are 16. At 16 or 17, there are no hours restrictions<\/a>, but they can’t be required to work during school hours or after 10 p.m. on school nights unless their parent signs a permission to work until midnight up to three nights per week.<\/p>\r\n

Meals and Break Time<\/b><\/h2>\r\n

Under state law, employees must get a 30-minute meal period<\/a> when scheduled to work six consecutive hours or more. These meal periods include minors<\/a>. Meal breaks during the workday are unpaid.<\/p>\r\n

The only exemption to the required meal break is tipped employees. These employees must voluntarily sign a written notice with their request to waive their meal break<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

Federal law does force Tennessee employers to give nursing mothers rest breaks for the first year after their baby is born to express breast milk at work<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n

Leave<\/b><\/h2>\r\n

Tennessee employees do not need to provide vacation time (paid or unpaid), nor do they have to provide paid sick leave.<\/p>\r\n

FMLA Leave<\/b><\/h3>\r\n

But the federal Family And Medical Leave Act<\/a> (FMLA) allows eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave a year when:<\/p>\r\n