Discrimination - Other - Tennessee

Summary of differences between federal and state regulations

The federally protected classes in employment discrimination include race, color, religion, national origin, age (40 and over), sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), disability, and genetic information.

The Tennessee Human Rights and Disability Act identifies the following protected classes for purposes of employment discrimination:

• Race,
• Creed,
• Color,
• Religion,
• Sex (means and refers only to the designation of an individual person as male or female as indicated on the individual's birth certificate),
• Age (40 or older), and
• National origin.

Tennessee also prohibits discrimination based on:

• Pregnancy (allowed by the state court system);
• Disability (includes a physical or mental impairment, but does not include current, illegal use of, or addiction to, a controlled substance or controlled substance analogue);
• An employee wearing their hair in braids, locs, twists, or another manner that is part of the cultural identification or physical characteristic of the employee's ethnic group; and
• The use of legal agricultural products (such as tobacco).

A state discrimination action can be brought against an employer with eight or more employees.

Disability

Under the Tennessee Disability Act (Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-50-103), discrimination is prohibited based solely upon any physical, mental or visual disability of the applicant, unless such disability to some degree prevents the applicant from performing the duties required by the employment sought or impairs the performance of the work involved.  Furthermore, no blind person may be discriminated against in any employment practices because the person uses a guide dog.

CROWN Act

The Tennessee CROWN Act provides that an employer must not adopt a policy that restricts an employee from wearing the employee's hair in braids, locs, twists, or another manner that is part of the cultural identification or physical characteristic of the employee's ethnic group.

Any employer policy in violation of this prohibition is considered discriminatory and void as against the public policy of Tennessee. However, a violation of this prohibition does not:

• Form the basis for a violation of another provision of law; or
• Create a private cause of action for the employee.

Instead, an employee may file a complaint for a violation of this prohibition with the Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development. The Commissioner must provide a warning to an employer in violation of this prohibition.

This prohibition does not apply to:

• A public safety employee if it would prevent the employee from performing essential functions of the employee's job requirements during employment; or
• A policy that an employer must adopt to adhere to common industry safety standards, to maintain reasonable safety measures, or to comply with federal or state laws, rules, or regulations relative to health or safety.

Legal agricultural products

Employers may not terminate employees for using a legal agricultural product not regulated by the alcoholic beverage commission, provided the product is used outside of working hours and or is used in compliance with the employer’s policies regarding such use during working hours.

State

Related information

Protected classes ezExplanation

Contact

Human Rights Commission

Regulations

Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-21-401 Employment-related discrimination; Employer practices

Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-21-102 Employment-related discrimination; Chapter definitions

Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-21-407 Employment-related discrimination; Age discrimination

Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-50-103 Employment of the disabled; Discrimination prohibited; Penalty; Complaint

Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-1-313 (b) Policy not permitting wearing of employee's hair in braids, locs, twists, or another manner prohibited - Complaints

Senate Bill 0136

Tennessee Annotated Code §50-1-304

http://www.lexisnexis.com/hottopics/tncode/

Federal

Contact

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)

Regulations

See applicable discrimination topic.