Tennessee Overtime Laws: Everything You Need to Know

In Tennessee, overtime laws require that non-exempt employees be paid one and a half times their regular pay rate for all hours worked over 40 hours in a workweek. These laws are put in place to ensure that employees are fairly compensated for their hard work and to incentivize employers to hire additional staff rather than overworking current employees. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at Tennessee overtime laws, including exemptions, penalties for noncompliance, and updated information on the topic using government resources.

Exemptions to Tennessee Overtime Laws

While most employees in Tennessee are entitled to overtime pay after 40 hours worked in a week, there are several exemptions to this law. These exemptions include:

– Executive, administrative, and professional employees: These employees are exempt from overtime if they are paid on a salary basis and perform duties that are primarily managerial, administrative, or professional in nature.
– Outside salespeople: Outside salespeople who regularly work away from the employer’s place of business are exempt from overtime.
– Farm workers: Agricultural workers who are employed on a farm and earn compensation based on the amount of produce or livestock they harvest are not entitled to overtime pay.
– Seasonal employees: Employees who are employed seasonally in an amusement or recreational establishment that operates for less than seven months out of the year are exempt from overtime.
– Certain other employees: There are several other categories of employees who may be exempt from overtime, including certain computer professionals, commission-based employees, and drivers who fall under federal regulations.

It’s important to note that just because an employee falls under one of these categories does not automatically exempt them from overtime pay. Employers must still comply with federal and state law regarding exemptions, and misclassifying employees can result in serious penalties.

Penalties for Noncompliance

Employers who fail to follow Tennessee overtime laws may be subject to penalties, including back pay and liquidated damages. Liquidated damages are an additional amount of money that employers must pay as a penalty for violating overtime laws. The liquidated damages are equal to the amount of unpaid overtime wages owed to the employee.

In addition to these penalties, employers who willfully violate overtime laws may be subject to criminal penalties, including imprisonment and fines. Employers who violate overtime laws may also face civil penalties, including fines and injunctions prohibiting further violations.

Updated Information on Tennessee Overtime Laws

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development is responsible for enforcing state overtime laws. In 2020, the department updated its overtime regulations to align more closely with federal overtime regulations. Specifically, the department updated the salary threshold for exemption from overtime pay.

Under the new regulations, salaried employees who earn less than $684 per week ($35,568 per year) must be paid overtime for all hours worked over 40 hours in a workweek. The previous threshold, set in 2013, was $455 per week ($23,660 per year). This change brings Tennessee in line with the federal overtime threshold set by the U.S. Department of Labor.

In addition to these changes, the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development provides resources for both employers and employees regarding overtime laws. These resources include fact sheets, guides, and frequently asked questions. Employers should consult these resources to ensure they are properly classifying employees and complying with overtime laws.

Conclusion

Tennessee’s overtime laws are designed to protect workers and ensure they are fairly compensated for their hard work. While there are exemptions to these laws, employers must be careful to properly classify employees and comply with federal and state guidelines. Failure to do so can result in significant penalties. Employers should consult resources provided by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development to stay up-to-date on overtime laws and ensure they are complying with regulations.

No TN overtime laws exist to regulate the compensation of time worked over 40 hours that week.  Instead, federal standards determine Tennessee overtime laws and enforcement is carried out by the Labor Wage and Hour Division of the US Department of Labor.  The Fair Labor Standards Act is the primary Tennessee overtime law and this sets not only minimum wage standards but also exemptions to overtime and other important provisions.

Are Tennessee employers required to follow the Tennessee overtime law?

Although there are some exemptions, Tennessee overtime laws not only have broad enforcement for employees working over 40 hours, but also state law requires that certain posters related to employee rights under the Fair Labor Standards Act be posted in the workplace to inform employees on their rights.

TN overtime laws and minors

There are strict regulations on hours that minors will be able to work.  14 or 15 year olds especially will work no more than 18 hours in a school week and 40 hours on a non-school week.  This makes them ineligible for overtime pay under Tennessee overtime laws by default.  There are other restrictions that should be noted for the employment of minors

General exemptions to TN overtime laws

Domestic workers and others that serve on a “live-in” basis do not receive overtime pay, under Tennessee overtime law, though there will be a reasonable expectation of compensation through free lodging and other benefits.  Presumably, they are not working the 24 hours a day they spend on the premises.

Most professionals, executives and sales persons do not make overtime pay under Tennessee overtime law.  This is due to the fact that they largely set the times they work themselves.  All professionals making more than $455 a week are exempt from Tennessee overtime laws.

Certain emergency workers, particularly those on-call at all times, do not receive typical overtime pay under TN overtime laws.  There might be conditions in TN overtime laws that allow this for active service during a 40 hour work week, but time spent on-call is generally not counted in over time.

You will check your employment agreement for more information about Tennessee overtime laws and its applicability to your position.

Independent contractors and TN overtime laws

Under federal and Tennessee overtime laws, employers need not pay overtime pay to independent contractors hired on a project.  That contractor however, is obligated to pay their employees overtime pay, as long as they are not immediate relatives.

Breaks and TN overtime laws

Employers under Tennessee overtime law are obligated to provide a 30 minute lunch break for six hours worked in a day.  This break does not count towards overtime hours worked.  All other breaks, typically shorter than 20 minutes, under which time the employee may not leave the premises will count towards the overtime determination

On-call work and Tennessee overtime law

Many occupations might have the employee work overtime and some of these hours might count for overtime under Tennessee overtime laws.  Although the general provision is that, an employee must be paid for time spent on company supervision or premises while “on call,” medical students, essential personnel and others might be subject to different rules under Tennessee overtime law.  Those that are free to do as they please while on call generally do not get paid overtime.