Tennessee – Tennessee’s General Assembly has decided against a proposal to significantly increase the state’s minimum wage.
The proposed bill, known as HB 2602 in the House and SB 2646, in the Senate, was introduced with the intention of raising the minimum wage in Tennessee to $20 per hour. This initiative was spearheaded by Representative Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, and Senator Sara Kyle, D-Memphis, who officially introduced the bill on January 31. The bill stated, “As introduced, increases the hourly minimum wage to $20.00, or the federal minimum wage established pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, whichever rate is greater.”
Despite these efforts, the bill faced defeat in the House’s Banking and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee and Senate Commerce and Labor Committee on Tuesday. Tennessee remains among the 20 states adhering to the federal minimum wage standard, as noted by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Furthermore, a related bill aimed at improving wages for food delivery employees also met with rejection. HB 2396 sought to increase the minimum hourly wage for this workforce from the federal minimum of $7.25 to $12. This bill too failed to pass in the House’s Banking and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee on the same day.
