Tennessee prohibits local governments from setting minimum wages above the federal floor under T.C.A. 50-2-112, reserving wage authority exclusively to the state.
T.C.A. 50-2-112 prohibits any county, municipal, or metropolitan government from enacting wage or employment benefit requirements that exceed federal or state law. Tennessee has no separate state minimum wage and follows the federal $7.25 per hour floor under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Cities such as Nashville and Memphis cannot enact local minimum wage increases or living wage ordinances applicable to private employers. Limited exceptions allow local governments to require higher wages for direct municipal employees and contractors performing public works.
Local wage ordinances exceeding state authority are void, and businesses may sue to enjoin enforcement and recover litigation costs.
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See how Chattanooga's minimum wage preemption rules stack up against other locations.
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