Articles Discussing Tennessee Wage & Hour Laws.

Executive Summary: In Hardy v. Tournament Players Club Southwind, the Tennessee Supreme Court held that an employee cannot pursue a private right of action under the Tennessee Tip Statute, T.C.A. § 50-2-107. This statute sets forth an employer’s duty to pay service charges, tips, and gratuities to its tipped employees. This decision overrules the Tennessee Court of Appeal’s ruling in Owens v. University Club, which held that an employee may pursue a civil action against an employer under the statute.

Executive Summary: The Tennessee Court of Appeal has held that a bartender can proceed with her lawsuit under §107 of the Tennessee Wage Regulation Act (TWRA), claiming her employer failed to pay her and other similarly situated employees tips and that it distributed tips among tipped and non-tipped employees in violation of the law. See Hardy v. Tournament Players Club (July 2, 2015). In reaching this decision, the court held that the General Assembly’s 2013 amendments to §50-2-101 of the TWRA, providing that the Department of Labor and Workforce Development will enforce that section and eliminating the reference to civil litigation, did not deprive individuals of the right to bring a lawsuit under §50-2-107 (addressing payment of tips).

A new Tennessee law prohibits local governments from requiring private employers to provide more generous health insurance benefits, leave policies, hourly wage standards or prevailing wage standards than that required by state or federal law as a condition of doing business in the locality. Signed by Governor Bill Haslam, the new law (H.B. 501) is effective immediately. Any such local laws already enacted are unenforceable.

An amendment to Tennessee’s Wage Regulations Act eliminating private suits for state wage-hour violations and giving the state Department of Labor exclusive power to enforce the law has been signed by Governor Bill Haslam. Previously, aggrieved workers could initiate a civil court proceeding; now, they must bring their complaints to the Department. The amendment, signed on April 23, 2013, also provides for an award of reasonable expenses, including attorneys’ fees and disbursements, for claims brought under the Act (TCA Title 50, Chapter 2, Part 1 and Title 50, Chapter 4, Part 1) in certain circumstances. The Act protects wage earners from unfair practices regarding pay.