---
title: HB 1157. Labor and industrial relations; preemption of wage and employment benefit mandates adopted by a local government entity; repeal certain provisions
collection: bills
id: 2025-2026/hb1157
cite_as: HB 1157, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.)
canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1157
md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1157.md
text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1157/text
source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72726
date: 2026-02-04
status: introduced
corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13
license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md
publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice.
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omitted: votes and history
omitted_chars: 129
omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1157.md?full=1
bill_number: HB 1157
session: 2025-2026 Regular Session
session_slug: 2025-2026
chamber: House
bill_type: bill
status_date: 2026-02-02
last_action: House Second Readers
sponsors:
- Stacey Evans
- Dewey McClain
- Long Tran
- Lydia Glaize
- Dar'shun Kendrick
- Mary Williams
text_version: Introduced
has_text: true
legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HB1157/2025
upstream_id: 2104338
summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5
topic_tags:
- minimum wage
- local government authority
- labor law
- employment benefits
- state preemption
---
# HB 1157. Labor and industrial relations; preemption of wage and employment benefit mandates adopted by a local government entity; repeal certain provisions
## Text
House Bill 1157
By: Representatives Evans of the 57th, McClain of the 109th, Tran of the 80th, Glaize of the
67th, Kendrick of the 95th, and others
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
To amend Chapter 4 of Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to
minimum wage law, so as to repeal certain provisions relating to the preemption of wage and
employment benefit mandates adopted by a local government entity; to provide for related
matters; to provide for an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 4 of Title 34 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to minimum wage
law, is amended by repealing Code Section 34-4-3.1, relating to wage, employment benefits,
and scheduling by local government entities, as follows:
"34-4-3.1.
(a) As used in this Code section, the term:
(1) 'Employee' means any individual employed by an employer.
(2) 'Employer' means any person or entity that employs one or more employees.
(3) 'Employment benefits' means anything of value that an employee may receive from
an employer in addition to wages and salary. This term includes, but is not limited to,
any health benefits; disability benefits; death benefits; group accidental death and
dismemberment benefits; paid days off for holidays, sick leave, vacation, and personal
necessity; additional pay based on schedule changes; retirement benefits; and
profit-sharing benefits.
(4) 'Local government entity' means a county, municipal corporation, consolidated
government, authority, board of education, or other local public board, body, or
commission.
(5) 'Person' means an individual, partnership, association, corporation, business trust,
legal representative, or any other organized group of persons.
(6) 'Wage or employment benefit mandate' means any requirement adopted by a local
government entity which requires an employer to pay any or all of its employees a wage
rate or provide employment benefits not otherwise required under this Code or federal
law.
(b)(1) Any and all wage or employment benefit mandates adopted by any local
government entity are hereby preempted.
(2) No local government entity may adopt, maintain, or enforce by charter, ordinance,
purchase agreement, contract, regulation, rule, or resolution, either directly or indirectly,
a wage or employment benefit mandate.
(3) Any local government entity may offer its own employees employment benefits.
(c) No local government entity may through its purchasing or contracting procedures seek
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 entity. A local
government entity shall not through the use of evaluation factors, qualification 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 entity.
(d)(1) No local government entity may adopt, maintain, or enforce by charter, ordinance,
regulation, rule, or resolution the hours or scheduling that an employer is required to
provide employees or otherwise regulate employee output during work hours.
(2) Any local government entity may set and regulate such hours, scheduling, and output
for its own employees and for the provision of services, including, but not limited to,
those related to the supplementary powers given to local governments in Article IX,
Section II, Paragraph III of the Constitution of this state.
(3) Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit a local government entity from regulating
or limiting the hours a business may operate."
SECTION 2.
This Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law
without such approval.
SECTION 3.
All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.
## Summaries written by Georgia Commons
The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary.
House Bill 1157 would repeal a Georgia law that currently bars counties, cities, and other local governments from setting their own minimum wage or employment benefit requirements for private employers.
### Plain-language summary
Georgia law currently includes a section, O.C.G.A. § 34-4-3.1, that blocks local governments such as counties, cities, and school boards from requiring employers within their borders to pay a certain wage or provide certain employment benefits beyond what state or federal law already requires. That same section also stops local governments from using contracting or purchasing rules to influence what wages or benefits their vendors offer, and from regulating employee work hours or scheduling.
HB 1157 would repeal that entire Code section. Doing so would remove the statewide preemption, meaning local governments would no longer be legally barred by this specific statute from adopting their own wage, benefit, or scheduling rules for private employers. The bill would take effect immediately upon the Governor's signature or upon becoming law without a signature, and it repeals any other conflicting laws.
### What it does
- Repeals O.C.G.A. § 34-4-3.1 in its entirety, removing the state law that preempted local wage and employment benefit mandates.
- Eliminates the current ban on local governments adopting, maintaining, or enforcing wage or employment benefit requirements on employers through ordinances, contracts, or regulations.
- Removes restrictions that stopped local governments from using purchasing or contracting rules to influence vendors' wages or benefits.
- Removes the current ban on local governments regulating the hours, scheduling, or output requirements employers impose on workers.
- Sets the effective date as the date the Governor signs the bill, or the date it becomes law without a signature.
### Who it affects
Local governments including counties, municipalities, consolidated governments, authorities, and school boards; private employers operating within those jurisdictions; employees whose wages, benefits, or schedules could become subject to local rules; and vendors or contractors who do business with local governments.
### Why it matters
If enacted, local governments in Georgia could set their own minimum wage, benefit, or scheduling requirements for employers, something the current statute forbids statewide. This would shift wage and benefit policy decisions from being uniform across Georgia to potentially varying city by city or county by county.
### Key provisions
- Section 1 repeals Code Section 34-4-3.1, which had defined terms like 'wage or employment benefit mandate' and 'local government entity' and preempted local wage and benefit rules.
- The repealed section had also barred local governments from using contracting or bidding processes to influence vendors' wages or benefits.
- The repealed section had barred local governments from regulating employee work hours, scheduling, or output, while still allowing them to regulate business operating hours.
- Section 2 makes the Act effective immediately upon the Governor's approval or upon becoming law without approval.
- Section 3 repeals all other laws in conflict with the Act.
## Status
- Status: Introduced (2026-02-02)
- Last action: House Second Readers (2026-02-04)
- Sponsors: Stacey Evans, Dewey McClain, Long Tran, Lydia Glaize, Dar'shun Kendrick, Mary Williams
- Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/72726
> The history, votes, and amendments (129 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb1157.md?full=1