WHB/4/6
Sponsored by Natalie Petroni, Claire Claverie of St. Cecilia Academy
This legislation was filed in the Labor and Workforce Development category
Presented as part of the YIG Volunteer 2024 conference
| 1 | BE IT ENACTED BY THE TENNESSEE YMCA YOUTH IN GOVERNMENT |
| 2 | |
| 3 | Section 1) Terms used in this act shall be defined as follows: |
| 4 | |
| 5 | A) Minimum wage- The minimum amount of remuneration that an employer is required to pay |
| 6 | wage earners for the work performed during a given period, which cannot be reduced by collective |
| 7 | agreement or an individual contract. |
| 8 | B) Tipped Employee- An employee who engages in an occupation in which he or she customarily |
| 9 | and regularly receives more than $30.00 per month in tips. |
| 10 | C) Tipped Minimum wage- The base wage paid to an employee in the United States who receives a |
| 11 | substantial portion of their compensation from tips. |
| 12 | D) Federal Overtime Law: Employees covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) must receive |
| 13 | overtime pay for more than 40 hours worked in a workweek of at least one and one-half times |
| 14 | their regular rate of pay. The FLSA does not require overtime pay for work on Saturdays, Sundays, |
| 15 | holidays, or regular days of rest, unless overtime hours are worked on such days. |
| 16 | E) The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)- An act that establishes minimum wage, overtime pay, |
| 17 | recordkeeping, and youth employment standards affecting employees in the private sector and in |
| 18 | Federal, state, and local governments. |
| 19 | F) Cost of Living- The amount of money needed to sustain a certain standard of living by affording |
| 20 | expenses such as housing, food, taxes, transportation, and healthcare. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | Section 2) This act requires employers to pay their employees a minimum hourly wage of $11.00 |
| 23 | on and after January 1, 2027. |
| 24 | |
| 25 | Section 3) Under this act, the Commissioner of the Department of Labor and Workforce |
| 26 | Development (DLWD) to set the state’s minimum hourly wage rate at $11.00 per hour, by |
| 27 | adjusting annually in increased increments of $1.25 per year on the following dates: |
| 28 | A) $8.50 an hour on and after January 1, 2025. |
| 29 | B) $9.75 an hour on and after January 1, 2026. |
| 30 | C) $11.00 an hour on and after January 1, 2027. |
| 31 | |
| 32 | Section 4) Under this act, the Commissioner of the Department of Labor and Workforce |
| 33 | Development (DLWD) will set the minimum tipped wage of a tipped employee to $2.73 on and |
| 34 | after January 1, 2027. |
| 35 | |
| 36 | Section 5) This Act Requires the Commissioner of the Department of Labor and Workforce |
| 37 | Development (DLWD) to set the state’s minimum tipped wage of a tipped employee at $2.73 per |
| 38 | hour, by adjusting annually in increased increments of $0.20 per year on the following dates: |
| 39 | |
| 40 | B) $2.53 an hour on and after January 1, 2026. |
| 41 | C) $2.73 an hour on and after January 1, 2027. |
| 42 | |
| 43 | Section 6) If the tips of tipped employees earning minimum tipped wage are not equal to or above |
| 44 | the applicable minimum wage, their employer must compensate the difference. It is the |
| 45 | employer’s responsibility to keep accurate tip records. |
| 46 | |
| 47 | Section 7) This act requires the applicable minimum wage to be applied to the Federal Overtime |
| 48 | law. |
| 49 | |
| 50 | Section 8) This act requires the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development to |
| 51 | enforce the applicable minimum wage and tipped minimum wage and as it increases. |
| 52 | |
| 53 | Section 9) The Commissioner of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DLWD) is |
| 54 | mandated to evaluate the minimum wage and tipped minimum wage on January 1, 2027, and |
| 55 | subsequently on an annual basis, adjust it to a level that corresponds appropriately to the current |
| 56 | cost of living. |
| 57 | |
| 58 | Section 10) This act will not require funding from the state budget. |
| 59 | |
| 60 | Section 11) All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this act are hereby repealed. |
| 61 | |
| 62 | Section 12) This act shall take effect on January 1, 2025, the public welfare requiring it. |
| 63 | |
| 64 | |
| 65 |