Tennessee minimum wage and tip laws (2026)

Tennessee does not set its own minimum wage above the federal rate, so the federal minimum of $7.25 an hour applies.

Minimum wage

$7.25

For a 40-hour week

$290.00

Source: 29 U.S.C. 206(a)(1) Read the rule

Employers in Tennessee can pay tipped workers a cash wage as low as $2.13 an hour and count up to $5.12 an hour of tips toward the $7.25 minimum. That is called a tip credit. Your cash wage plus the tips you keep must reach at least $7.25 for every hour in each workweek. If they do not, your employer has to make up the difference.

Tips can count toward the wage

Yes

Tipped cash wage

$2.13

Maximum tip credit

$5.12

Employer must tell you first

Yes

Source: 29 U.S.C. 203(m)(2)(A); 29 CFR 531.59 Read the rule

• Hours past 40 in a workweek are paid at 1.5 times your regular rate.

Overtime rate at minimum wage

$10.875

Overtime cash rate with a tip credit

$5.755

For tipped workers, overtime is figured on the full minimum wage, not the cash wage. At $7.25, that is $10.875 an hour, so with the full tip credit the overtime cash rate cannot be less than $5.755.

Source: 29 U.S.C. 207(a)(1); 29 CFR 778.107; Fact Sheet #15 (overtime for tipped employees is computed on the full minimum wage, not the cash wage) Read the rule

Meal break

30 minutes when you work more than 6 hours

Rest break

Not required

Extra pay for a missed break

No

Tennessee requires these breaks but does not set a fixed premium, like an extra hour of pay, when one is missed. If you work through a meal break, that time has to be paid.

Source: Tenn. Code Ann. 50-2-103(h) (30-minute unpaid meal or rest period for employees scheduled six consecutive hours; no premium pay for a missed break) Read the rule

Taxes and deductions you agreed to, like health insurance, are normal. These are the ones that cause trouble in restaurants and bars, and what Tennessee allows:

Required uniforms

Only if pay stays above minimum

Register or cash shortages

Only if pay stays above minimum

Broken dishes or equipment

Only if pay stays above minimum

Card processing fee on card tips

Only if pay stays above minimum

Customers who walk out

Only if pay stays above minimum

"Only if pay stays above minimum" means the deduction cannot take your pay for the week below minimum wage. For a worker paid a tipped cash wage, that usually leaves no room for a uniform, shortage, breakage or walkout deduction. A card fee works differently: only the fee on the card tip itself, taken from that tip.

Source: 29 CFR 531.35 (wages must be paid free and clear); Fact Sheet #16; Fact Sheet #15 (credit card fee deduction limited to the fee actually charged and may not reduce pay below minimum wage) Read the rule

Managers and owners can share in the pool

No

Kitchen staff can share when a tip credit is taken

No

Kitchen staff can share when no tip credit is taken

Yes

In most states, an employer can require tipped staff to pool tips with others who serve customers, like bussers, runners and bartenders. Managers, supervisors and owners can never take a share. Under federal law, cooks and dishwashers can share only when the employer takes no tip credit, and some states do not allow it at all. The answers above show the rule in Tennessee.

Source: 29 U.S.C. 203(m)(2)(B); 29 CFR 531.54 Read the rule

Under federal law, a mandatory service charge, like an automatic 20% on large parties, is not a tip. It belongs to the business unless it is paid out, and when it is paid to you it counts as wages. It cannot be used to cover the tip credit, and it should not be reported as tips on your stub. Some states give the charge to the staff when customers were not clearly told it is not a tip, so if a charge was presented as a gratuity, it is worth asking where it went.

Source: 29 CFR 531.55 (a compulsory service charge is not a tip) Read the rule

Tennessee does not require paid sick leave statewide. Some employers offer it anyway, and in a few places a city or county law requires it.

Source: No federal paid sick leave requirement for private employers.

Some parts of Tennessee law depend on things a pay stub does not show. A TruWage result for Tennessee can be off if any of these apply to you:

• If your employer deducted for a shortage, breakage, uniform, or walkout, Tennessee allows it only under a written agreement you signed before the deduction. This check only flags such deductions when they cut your pay below minimum wage.

Start with your manager or payroll and show them the numbers. Many mistakes get fixed that way. If it is not fixed, you can file a wage claim. It is free and you do not need a lawyer.

Agency

Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Labor Standards Unit

Phone

(844) 224-5818

The Labor Standards Unit processes claims for unpaid wages under the Wage Regulations Act (Tenn. Code Ann. 50-2-101 et seq.): unpaid agreed wages, unauthorized deductions, final pay and meal breaks. Tennessee has no minimum wage or overtime law, so minimum wage, tip credit and overtime claims go to the federal Wage and Hour Division (1-866-487-9243).

How to file a wage claim

You can also file with the U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, which enforces federal wage law, at 1-866-487-9243. They take complaints in many languages and keep the name of the person complaining confidential.