2019 Tennessee Code
Title 50 - Employer and Employee
Chapter 2 - Wage Regulations
Part 1 - General Provisions
§ 50-2-113. State preemption of wage theft laws, ordinances or rules.
(a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the “Tennessee Wage Protection Act.”
(b) The general assembly finds as a matter of public policy that it is necessary to declare the theft of wages and the denial of fair compensation for work completed to be against the laws and policies of this state.
(c) Employers and employees alike benefit from consistent and established standards of wage theft regulation. Existing federal and state laws, including, but not limited to, the Fair Labor Standards Act, compiled in 29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq., the Davis-Bacon Act, compiled in 40 U.S.C. § 3141 et seq., the McNamara-O’Hara Service Contract Act, compiled in 41 U.S.C. § 6701 et seq., the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Protection Act, compiled in 29 U.S.C. § 1801 et seq., the Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act, compiled in 29 CFR 5.1 et seq., the Copeland Anti-Kickback Act, codified primarily in 18 U.S.C. § 874 and 40 U.S.C. § 3145, and this chapter, seek to protect employees from predatory and unfair wage practices while also providing appropriate due process to employers.
(d) A county, municipality, or political subdivision of the state shall not adopt or maintain in effect any law, ordinance, or rule that creates requirements, regulations, or processes for the purpose of addressing wage theft. Any additional wage theft ordinance or regulation that exceeds the designated state and federal laws in subsection (c) shall be explicitly preempted by the state.
