Minimum Wage in Tennessee – weekly, monthly, annually

In Tennessee, the minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, which equals the federal minimum rate. In the past last year, more than half of the states raised their minimum wage standards, but that didn’t happen in Tennessee.

Tennessee, as one of only five states, doesn’t have a minimum wage or overtime pay law, and most employees and employers are subject to federal FLSA (Fair Labor Standards Act) regulations.

Not all Tennessee employees get paid at the minimum level. Full-time students and tipped workers, for example, are exempt from the regulations, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that about four percent of Tennessee’s workforce is paid under the minimum hourly rate.

Under Tennessee law, employers that include tips, gratuities, or mandatory service charges on their customers’ bills, must distribute these to the serving workers.

Tipped workers must spend at least 80 percent of their work hours on duties that generate tips, as required by federal law. This is often also called the “80/20 rule.”

If, however, a tipped worker doesn’t make the state minimum hourly wage, the employer is required to compensate the employee for the difference.

Tennessee Paycheck Calculator

This Tennessee Paycheck Calculator instantly translates your hourly wage to monthly, annual, and weekly earnings.

How to use our Tennessee paycheck calculator

1. First, put in your hourly wage.
2. Second, put in your weekly work hours.
3. Our paycheck calculator displays your hourly wage translated to monthly, annual, and weekly earnings.

How does this Tennessee paycheck calculator work?

It may be somewhat difficult for hourly workers to determine how their hourly pay translates to an annual, monthly, or weekly wage.

For workers with periodical salaries, like per week or month, it’s quite different. They will receive a paycheck by the end of a work period, and the paycheck calculator shows these workers what that means in terms of hourly pay.

So this great tool displays to hourly workers how their hourly pay translates to earnings per year, month, or week. It works quite simply: just put in your hourly pay followed by the number of hours you work in a week. Then, the paycheck calculator instantly shows you what that means in weekly, annual, or monthly earnings.

These results are generated by multiplying your base hourly pay by the number of hours, weeks, or months you work annually, assuming you work 40 hours per week.

Minimum Wage in Tennessee

So Tennessee’s minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, and this translates to $58.00 a day, $290.00 a week (at 40 work hours), $1256.67 a month, or $15,080.00 a year.

As said earlier, not all Tennessee employees will receive the minimum wage. Tipped workers and certain students may be paid under Tennessee’s minimum wage level.

Tennessee minimum wage exemptions

Since Tennessee doesn’t have any minimum wage or overtime laws, the regulations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) apply, meaning certain groups of workers may be exempt from the minimum pay requirements. The following is not a complete list, but the overview includes the main groups:

• Tennessee repealed the minimum wage exemption for workers with disabilities. Consequently, Tennessee workers with disabilities must get paid at least the state’s minimum wage rate.
• Some farm laborers and domestic service employees (such as babysitters) are exempt from Tennessee’s minimum wage rules, and elected officials are also exempt.
• Employees of some recreational or seasonal amusement establishments may be exempt, as are certain farm workers and people taking care of the elderly or infirm.
• Tennessee exempts administrators, executives, business professionals, and outside salespersons from minimum wage requirements.
• In Tennessee, tipped workers can be paid less than the minimum hourly pay, but if the employee doesn’t make an accumulated wage of $7.25 an hour, the employer must pay the difference.
• Students partaking in a work-study project at a university may receive 85% of Tennessee’s minimum wage, so $6.16 an hour, but the job must be part-time for up to 20 hours per week.
• Employees under 20 can be paid $4.25 per hour (as a training wage) for the first 90 days.

All Tennessee employers need to display informative, state-designated minimum wage and overtime posters in highly visible places to inform their employees about Tennessee and federal law requirements and workers’ rights.

Tennessee overtime wage

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires Tennessee employers to compensate their employees for work hours in excess of 40 in a regular week at a rate of and-and-a-half times their usual rate. But, there are exceptions. The following overview is not complete; it just lists some of the main except groups.

• Agricultural and seasonal farm workers and casual domestic workers may hold exempt status from Tennessee’s overtime regulations.
• Elected officials, administrators, executives, business professionals, outside salespersons, and some computer specialists may be exempt from Tennessee’s overtime pay rules as well.

Nothing in this post constitutes legal advice. So, if you have any questions about Tennessee’s minimum wage and/or overtime laws or compliance, please consult a tax professional or tax attorney.