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Women are
52%
more likely to
live in poverty
than white men in
Tennessee
Single-woman led households are at the
highest risk
of poverty in
Tennessee
In
Tennessee
, women earn
$0.74
for every dollar a white man makes
Women in
Tennessee
are
59%
more likely to earn
minimum wage
than white men
Women in
Tennessee
are
65%
more likely to earn a
tipped wage
than white men
In
Tennessee
, at least
73%
of women are essential to the financial security of their household
Under Tennessee law, it is illegal to discriminate between employees on the basis of sex by paying any employee a salary or wage rate less than the rate of an employee of the opposite sex for comparable work on a job requiring comparable skill, effort, and responsibility.[1]
Affirmative Defenses: Pay discrepancies can be justified based on a seniority system, a merit system, a system that measures earning by quality or quantity of production, “or any other reasonable differential that is based on a factor other than sex.”[2]
Retaliation: It is illegal for an employer to discharge or discriminate against any employee who tries to invoke the equal pay law or assist in its enforcement.[3]
[1] TENN. CODE ANN. § 50-2-202.
[2] TENN. CODE ANN. § 50-2-202.
[3] TENN. CODE ANN. § 50-2-202.
Yes. Tennessee's equal pay law states that employers cannot discriminate in pay for “comparable work,” whereas the federal law uses the language “equal work.”[1]
[1] TENN. CODE ANN. § 50-2-202.
No. Tennessee laws do not mandate any form of employer pay disclosure.
No. Tennessee laws do not prohibit employers’ use of salary history in hiring and setting pay.
No. Tennessee law does not include protection for employees’ pay discussions. However, under federal law private sector employers generally cannot prohibit employees from discussing wages, with some exceptions such as supervisors.[1]
[1] Your Right to Discuss Wages, Nat’l Lab. Rels. Bd.,https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/your-rights/your-rights-to-discuss-wages#:~:text=Under%20the%20National%20Labor%20Relations,for%20mutual%20aid%20or%20protection(last visited Jan. 28, 2022); e.g., 29 U.S.C. §§ 151-169.
No. Tennessee law does not require employers to collect, report, or assess gender-based pay data.
No. There is no state minimum wage law, therefore the federal minimum wage applies. Tennessee law prohibits localities from setting a different minimum wage.[1]
[1] Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-2-112.
No. Tennessee has no minimum wage law of its own, therefore the federal tipped wage applies.
Yes. All wages or compensation of employees in private employment is to be paid at least once per month.[1]
[1] TENN. CODE ANN. § 50-2-103.
No. There is no wage and hour law in Tennessee requiring notice of wage rates.
No. Tennessee does not have a state overtime law, so federal law governs. Covered nonexempt employees must receive overtime pay for any time worked beyond 40 hours in a work week (any fixed and regularly recurring period of 168 hours—seven consecutive 24-hour periods) at a rate no less than time and a half at the regular rate of pay.[1]
[1] 29 U.S.C. § 207 (2020).
Yes. Tennessee’s wage and hour law statute, § 50-2-103 requires that all wages and compensation be paid to employees at least once a month.[1] Additionally, any employee who leaves or is terminated should be paid their full wages no later than the next regular payday or twenty-one days following the leaving or discharge, whichever occurs last.[2] A violation of any of these provisions is a Class B misdemeanor under Tennessee law.[3] Employers may be fined between $100 and $500 for their violation, and between$500 and $1,000 if it is found to be a willful violation of the statute.[4] If the violation is found to be unintentional, a warning instead of a fine maybe issued for the first offense.[5] The commissioner has the sole discretion to decide to proceed, civilly or criminally, with any action against an employer.[6] There does not appear to be any anti-retaliation provisions in the wage theft laws.[7]
[1] TENN. CODE ANN. § 50-2-103(a)(1).
[2] TENN. CODE ANN. § 50-2-103(g).
[3] TENN. CODE ANN. § 50-2-103(i).
[4] TENN. CODE ANN. § 50-2-103(i).
[5] TENN. CODE ANN. § 50-2-103(i).
[6] TENN. CODE ANN. § 50-2-103(i).
[7] See Employee Rights, TENNESSEE DEP’T OF LABOR & WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT (last visited Dec. 8, 2023), https://www.tn.gov/workforce/employees/labor-laws/labor-laws-redirect/employee-rights.html (listing exceptions to the “employment at will” doctrine, but does not include any sort of protection against wage theft retaliation).
