Currently, there is no state minimum wage law in Tennessee as well as laws concerning overtime regulation of salaried employees. Tennessee’s employers abide by the United States Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division of the Fair Labor Standards Act regulating minimum wage, overtime and salaried employees which currently is $5.15 per hour.
In 2006 many legislators and lobbyists have worked on increasing the minimum wage to $6.15 per hour. In May 2006 the Tennessee House of Representatives worked on an amended Senate version to a new minimum wage law. The amended version provided for an exemption for student workers as provided under federal law as well as to exempt agricultural and nursery workers. No results were found on this piece of legislation.
Perhaps one of the stumbling blocks to passing a minimum wage in Tennessee is that very few workers in the state are currently making minimum wage. Approximately 1.5% of the state’s workforce or 40,000 workers are employed at minimum wage levels. A state survey shows that the majority of Tennessee’s minimum wage earners are either teenagers living at home and working for weekend pocket money or married individuals working part-time to supplement their spouse’s income. Fewer than 4,800 workers are single parents.
It was good to find that the Tennessee legislators did show some type of initiative to put in place a state minimum wage law. Because of rising costs in gasoline prices as well as living costs, working for minimum wage would still be difficult to live on. States that have raised their minimum wage to even $1.00 per hour have seen an increase in state revenue and a boost to their economies. There has been no jobs lost or businesses closed. With a new legislative session opening next year, there may be another opportunity for Tennessee to revisit a state minimum wage law.
