Tennessee workers earning $7.25 an hour could see their paychecks jump if a new push in Nashville succeeds. Lawmakers have revived House Bill 1399, which would raise the statewide minimum wage to $20 an hour in a state that still follows the federal floor.
The measure was first filed in 2025 by Justin Pearson and Raumesh Akbari, both Democrats from Memphis, and has returned for the 2026 session. The bill would require employers to pay at least $20 per hour and to pay one and a half times the regular rate for hours beyond 40 in a week, aligning with familiar overtime rules.
It is currently slated for a hearing in the Banking and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee on February 11, 2026.
Right now, Tennessee has no separate state minimum wage, so most covered workers simply earn the federal rate of $7.25 per hour, unchanged since 2009.
Federal and independent data suggest that falls well short of a basic “living wage” in the state, where a single adult is estimated to need about $14.38 an hour and a family of four with two working adults about $18.94 to cover essentials like housing, food, transport and taxes.
That gap between paychecks and real-life costs like rent, groceries, gas and the electric bill is at the heart of the fight over HB 1399. Nineteen states raised their minimum wages at the start of 2026, some to $17 or more, while Tennessee remains tied to the federal floor.
Supporters say a $20 baseline would move low-wage jobs closer to a livable wage, and Pearson has framed the proposal as a way to secure “a livable wage for workers across the state.”
Critics warn it could push some small businesses to cut hours, lay off staff or even close in a high-inflation environment. For workers watching prices climb, one question hangs over the February hearing. Will the legislature let the minimum catch up?
The official statement was published by the Tennessee General Assembly.
