AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 3; Title 4; Title 5; Title 6; Title 7; Title 8 and Title 50, relative to pay stubs.
HB1384, the “Pay Stub Protection Act,” requires employers to provide employees with a written or electronic statement of earnings and deductions for each pay period. The statement must include basic identifying information and pay details such as gross wages, net wages, deductions, pay date, pay period covered, and, for hourly employees, total hours worked, hourly rate, and overtime hours over 40 in a workweek. The bill applies to employers and employees broadly as defined in the measure.
If an employee does not receive the required statement, the employee may request it from the employer, and the employer must provide it within 10 days. If the employer still does not comply, the employee may file a complaint with the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. The department must investigate, issue a written warning for a first violation, and, for repeat violations after a warning, hold a contested case hearing and may assess civil penalties ranging from $50 to $500 per violation, depending on the circumstances. The department is also directed to adopt rules to implement the act.
The bill would add a new wage-statement requirement to Tennessee law in Title 50, creating a statewide standard for pay stub content and a complaint-and-enforcement process administered by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development. It would affect employers by imposing new disclosure obligations and potential civil penalties for repeat noncompliance, while giving employees a formal right to request missing pay information and seek agency enforcement. The act takes effect July 1, 2025, with rulemaking authority effective immediately upon enactment.
The available voting history suggests strong support for the bill in committee, with unanimous or near-unanimous favorable recommendations in both the House Banking and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee and the House Commerce Committee. No committee transcript is available, so there is no recorded debate to indicate organized opposition or detailed concerns. Overall, the bill appears to have been received as a consumer- and worker-protection measure with broad committee approval.
The main policy issue is the compliance burden on employers, especially smaller businesses, because the bill requires detailed wage statements, a 10-day response window to employee requests, and possible civil penalties for repeat violations. On the other side, the bill is designed to improve transparency for employees and give workers a clear enforcement path when pay information is missing. The penalty structure and the Department’s discretion in setting penalties based on employer size and other factors are the most likely points of contention, though no specific objections are recorded in the provided materials.