State labor lawRead at source, 24 September 2026

Tennessee Labor Laws for Employers (2026): Breaks, Overtime, Final Pay and Hiring

Tennessee requires a 30-minute unpaid break for anyone scheduled six consecutive hours, with limited exceptions for adults and none for minors. There is no state overtime law, so federal rules apply: time and a half after 40 hours a week. Final pay is due by the next regular payday or 21 days after separation, whichever is later. Employers with 35 or more full-time equivalent employees must use E-Verify. Tennessee has no state minimum wage, paid sick leave or pay transparency law, and cities cannot create their own.

Tennessee employment law at a glance

Tennessee has no state minimum wage or overtime law, but it does have its own rules on meal breaks, final pay, paydays, minors and, for larger employers, E-Verify. It also bars cities and counties from adding wage, leave, scheduling or hiring mandates for private employers. Each row links to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s Labor Standards pages, the statute text or the federal source we read.

Tennessee break laws

Tennessee is one of the states that requires a break for adults. Each employee must get a 30-minute unpaid meal or rest period if scheduled to work six consecutive hours. The Department of Labor says failing to provide it is a violation of state law, and that there are no state requirements for additional breaks (TN Labor Standards; T.C.A. 50-2-103(h)).

Two exceptions apply to adults:

• Ample opportunity workplaces. The break is not required where the nature of the business gives employees ample opportunity to rest or take an appropriate break. The department’s examples are the food and beverage industry and security guards.
• Tipped food and beverage staff. At the employer’s discretion, an employee principally employed serving food or beverages who receives and reports tips may waive the 30-minute break, following the written consent procedure in the statute.

Because the Tennessee break is unpaid, the employee must be fully relieved of duty for it to stay unpaid under federal rules. Any shorter breaks you choose to give, of 5 to 20 minutes, count as paid work time (29 CFR 785.18).

Breaks for minors

Workers under 18 must be given a 30-minute unpaid break or meal period if scheduled six consecutive hours, and it may not be scheduled during or before the first hour of the workday. The ample-opportunity exemption and the tipped-employee waiver do not apply to anyone under 18 (TN child labor page; T.C.A. 50-5-115).

Lactation breaks

Tennessee requires employers to provide reasonable unpaid break time each day to an employee who needs to express breast milk, running concurrently with other breaks where possible, unless it would unduly disrupt operations, and to make reasonable efforts to provide a private room near the work area other than a toilet stall (T.C.A. 50-1-305). The federal PUMP Act also applies. Compare states on meal break laws by state.

Tennessee overtime laws

Tennessee has no state overtime statute, so overtime follows the federal Fair Labor Standards Act: time and a half the regular rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek, with no daily overtime. A 12-hour shift does not earn overtime unless the week goes over 40. Exemptions, including the executive, administrative and professional exemptions and the salary test that goes with them, follow federal rules; Tennessee does not set its own threshold. Private employers cannot substitute compensatory time for overtime pay. Local governments are also barred from regulating hours worked or scheduling for private employers (T.C.A. 7-51-1802(f)). See overtime laws by state to compare neighbors.

Paying employees in Tennessee

Minimum wage

Tennessee has no minimum wage law. Employers covered by the FLSA pay the federal $7.25 an hour, and tipped employees can be paid $2.13 in cash if tips bring them to $7.25 (U.S. DOL). T.C.A. 50-2-112 preempts any local wage or employment benefit mandate on private employers, so Nashville, Memphis and every other city follow the same floor. More on our Tennessee minimum wage page.

Paydays

Private employers with five or more employees must set and keep regular paydays, and all employees must be paid at least once a month. The statute sets deadlines by schedule (TN Labor Standards):

• Paid monthly: wages earned before the first of a month are due by the fifth day of the next month.
• Paid twice a month or more: wages earned in the first half of a month (before the 16th) are due by the fifth of the next month, and wages earned in the second half are due by the 20th of the next month.
• Pay changes: pay can be reduced only if the employee is told before the work is done.
• Deductions: offsets for amounts the employee owes, such as uniforms or loans, need a signed written agreement in hand beforehand (T.C.A. 50-2-110).

Final paychecks

Whether an employee quits or is fired, all wages earned are due by the next regular payday or 21 days after the separation, whichever occurs last, and the Department of Labor says there is no exemption (T.C.A. 50-2-103(g)). You can hold a final check until a uniform or equipment is returned only if the employee signed a written policy or agreement allowing it. Unused vacation or PTO is owed only if your policy or labor agreement says so. See final paycheck laws by state and PTO payout laws by state.

Tennessee hiring laws

E-Verify for employers with 35 or more

Since January 1, 2023, private employers with 35 or more full-time equivalent employees under the same FEIN must use E-Verify for new hires. Employers under 35 may either use E-Verify or request and keep copies of the identity and work authorization documents on the Tennessee Lawful Employment Act list (TN Labor Standards; T.C.A. 50-1-703). Everyone completes the federal Form I-9. See E-Verify requirements by state.

Background checks, salary history and pay in postings

Tennessee has no ban-the-box, salary history or pay transparency law for private employers. It also stops cities from creating them: a local government may not prohibit an employer from requesting any information on an application or during hiring (T.C.A. 7-51-1802(d)). Federal rules still apply, including EEOC guidance on criminal records and the Fair Credit Reporting Act for background reports. See ban the box laws by state.

New-hire reporting

Tennessee requires employers to report each newly hired employee’s name, address, hire date and Social Security number to the state (T.C.A. 36-5-1102). Federal law requires the report no later than 20 days after the hire date (42 U.S.C. 653a); check the state’s new-hire reporting program for its submission options.

Hiring minors

Tennessee does not issue work permits. Instead, the employer must keep a separate file for each minor with the employment application, proof of age and other required records, available for inspection, and must post the state notice on minors’ hours and prohibited work (T.C.A. 50-5-111). Hours limits apply (TN child labor page):

• 14 and 15: when school is in session, no more than 3 hours a day or 18 a week, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.; when it is not, up to 8 hours a day and 40 a week, between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.
• 16 and 17: not during school hours, and not between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Sunday through Thursday before a school day. With a signed parental consent form on file, they may work until midnight up to three of those nights a week.

Compare other states on child labor laws by state.

Paid leave in Tennessee

Tennessee does not require private employers to provide paid sick leave, vacation or holidays. The Department of Labor says fringe benefits such as PTO, vacation, sick pay and holiday pay are set by company policy (TN Labor Standards). Cities cannot fill the gap: a local government may not require employers to adopt a leave policy that deviates from state requirements (T.C.A. 7-51-1802(b)), and local wage and employment benefit mandates, including paid time off, are preempted (T.C.A. 50-2-112). Employers with 50 or more employees still owe eligible staff unpaid, job-protected leave under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act.

Posters and records

Tennessee employers must display the state’s Wage Regulations and Child Labor poster alongside the federal ones; the Department of Labor publishes it in English and Spanish. Our labor law posters by state page links to the full Tennessee list. Tennessee also requires workers’ compensation coverage once you reach five employees (one for construction); see workers’ comp requirements by state, and WARN Act by state for the state’s plant-closing notice rule for employers with 50 to 99 full-time employees.

Local rules in Tennessee

Tennessee preempts local employment rules broadly. Under T.C.A. 50-2-112 and T.C.A. 7-51-1802, cities and counties may not impose minimum wages, benefit or leave mandates, health insurance requirements, scheduling or hours rules, or limits on what an employer asks on an application. A city can set pay and policies for its own employees, but a private employer in Nashville, Memphis, Knoxville or Chattanooga follows the same state and federal rules as everyone else.

What this means when you’re hiring hourly workers in Tennessee

With a $7.25 legal floor and no posting rules, Tennessee law says little about what you should advertise. The market does: hourly candidates compare posted wages, and ads without pay tend to lose them. Put pay, shift and location in the first line; our job ad copywriting guide shows how. Plan your schedules around the six-hour break rule, and build the 35-employee E-Verify threshold into onboarding as you grow.

To see what a Tennessee hire costs at the wage you actually pay, use the employee cost calculator. Boostpoint runs social job ads for frontline employers, including manufacturing and warehouse teams, with a short in-app application; in our 2026 benchmark, the median campaign cost $13.88 per applicant.

Frequently asked questions

Sources: Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Tennessee Code Annotated, U.S. Department of Labor. Read at source 24 September 2026.