Pay Stub Requirements in Tennessee

Are Pay Stubs Required?

There is no federal law requiring pay stubs, but most states require employers to give each employee a written or electronic wage statement every pay period. Tennessee employers should confirm the specific format and delivery rules that apply locally.

What a Pay Stub Usually Must Show

Commonly required items include gross wages, hours worked, the pay rate, every deduction, net pay, the pay-period dates, and identifying information for the employer and employee. Some states also require showing accrued sick leave.

Recordkeeping

Keep payroll records for at least three years under federal law, some states require longer. Accurate time records are the foundation of an accurate, defensible pay stub.

Tennessee Labor-Law Snapshot

Beyond pay-stub rules, the Tennessee minimum wage is $7.25/hour (the federal floor), overtime is about $10.88/hour, and a final paycheck is generally due by the next regular payday or within 21 days, whichever is later on discharge, figures your stubs need to reflect.

For Tennessee employers these rules interact with timekeeping: accurate, audit-logged hours drive overtime, final pay, and break records. Tennessee requires meal breaks on longer shifts and does not mandate paid rest breaks; a final paycheck is due by the next regular payday or within 21 days, whichever is later when an employee resigns. Confirm current Tennessee figures with the state labor office before relying on any single number.

What Tennessee Employers Should Keep on File

Federal law requires employers to keep payroll records for at least three years, and the records used to calculate pay, such as time cards and work schedules, for at least two. Several states require longer. The practical standard is simple: if a former employee filed a claim tomorrow, could you evidence every hour you paid and every hour you did not?

The records that matter are the daily start and end times, the total hours for each workweek, the regular rate and any premium, all additions and deductions, and the pay period the payment covers. Keeping the underlying punches matters more than keeping the summary, because a total nobody can trace back is not evidence.

Where the record is missing or unreliable, the employee's reasonable recollection is generally accepted, and the employer carries the burden of disproving it. That is the single strongest argument for an automatic time clock over a paper sheet reconstructed at the end of the week.

How Tennessee Compares with the States Next Door

Minimum wage across the line: Alabama $7.25, Arkansas $11.00, Georgia $7.25, Kentucky $7.25, Mississippi $7.25, Missouri $15.00, North Carolina $7.25, Virginia $12.77. Tennessee is at $7.25.

If you employ people on both sides of the Tennessee border, the stricter of the two states usually governs each worker, based on where the work is actually performed rather than where your business is registered.

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Official Sources

• U.S. DOL, Minimum wage by state
• U.S. DOL, State overtime
• U.S. DOL, State labor offices

More Tennessee Guides

Pay Stub Rules in Other States

Tennessee Pay Stub Rules: Frequently Asked Questions