Tennessee House Bill HB1958

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/22/26
• Refer: 2/4/26
• Refer: 2/18/26
• Refer: 3/4/26
• Chaptered: 4/6/26
• Passed: 4/6/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 50, Chapter 2, Part 1, relative to employee compensation.

Summary

HB1958 amends Tennessee’s wage-payment law to change when employers must pay earned compensation. For employers that pay wages once a month, wages earned and unpaid before the first day of a month must be paid by the fifth day of the following month. The bill also keeps a special rule for piece-work and commission-based employees, whose earned compensation is due by the last day of the succeeding month. The bill further revises the rule for employees who leave or are discharged from employment. In those cases, all earned wages or salary must be paid no later than the next regular payday after separation or within 21 days after discharge or voluntary leaving, whichever is later. As with monthly payroll, piece-work and commission compensation after separation remains payable by the last day of the succeeding month. The act applies only to wages and compensation earned on or after July 1, 2026.

Impact

The bill amends Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 50, Chapter 2, Part 1, specifically Section 50-2-103, which governs timing of wage payments and final paychecks. It changes employer obligations for monthly payroll cycles and for final wages owed to separated employees, while preserving a separate timing rule for commission and piece-rate workers. Employers in private employment will need to adjust payroll practices and separation procedures to comply with the new deadlines beginning July 1, 2026.

Sentiment

The available voting history shows strong, unanimous support for the bill at every stage, including subcommittee, full committee, and floor passage. There is no recorded committee transcript or opposition in the provided materials, and the bill passed the House on consent calendar with 94 yeas and 0 nays. Overall, the sentiment appears broadly favorable and noncontroversial.

Contention

No specific points of contention are documented in the provided record, and no committee debate transcript is available. The only potentially sensitive issue implied by the text is the balance between employee access to timely final wages and employer payroll administration, especially for monthly-paid, commission-based, and piece-work employees. However, the unanimous votes suggest any concerns were not significant enough to generate recorded opposition.