Amends TCA Title 12 and Title 50, Chapter 2.

Unless required by state or federal law, present law provides that all additional wage or employment benefit mandates imposed on private employers by a local government are preempted. Present law prohibits a local government from requiring, as a condition to doing business within the jurisdictional boundaries of the local government or contracting with the local government, a private employer to pay its employees an hourly wage in excess of the minimum hourly wage required to be paid by such employer under applicable federal or state law, nor does a local government have the authority to impose a wage or employment benefit mandate on a private employer. Present law also prohibits a local government entity from, through its purchasing or contracting procedures, seeking to control or affect the wages or employment benefits provided by its vendors, contractors, service providers, or other parties doing business with the local government. A local government must not, through the use of evaluation factors, qualifications of bidders, or otherwise award preferences on the basis of wages or employment benefits provided by its vendors, contractors, service providers, or other parties doing business with the local government. Present law authorizes a local government to offer its own employees wage and employment benefits. With respect to construction contracts, present law provides that a local government has no authority to require a prevailing wage be paid in excess of the wages established by the prevailing wage commission for state highway construction projects or the Tennessee occupational wages prepared annually by the department of labor and workforce development, employment security division, labor market information for state building projects. Present law provides that if compliance with the above present law by a local government relative to a specific contract, project, or program would result in the denial of federal funds that would otherwise be available to the local government, then the local government may require a private employer to pay its employees a wage necessary to meet the federal requirements to obtain the federal funds, but only relative to such contract, project, or program. This bill deletes the above provisions and, instead, provides the following: (1) This bill authorizes a local government to require a private employer to pay its employees an hourly wage in excess of the minimum hourly wage required to be paid by the employer under applicable federal or state law as a condition of doing business within the jurisdictional boundaries of the local government or contracting with the local government; and (2) With respect to construction contracts, this bill prohibits a local government from requiring a prevailing wage be paid in excess of the wages established by the prevailing wage commission for state highway construction projects or in excess of the Tennessee occupational wages prepared annually by the department of labor and workforce development, employment security division, based on labor market information for state building projects.