Articles Discussing General Topics Under Tennessee Labor & Employment Law.

On May 1, 2025, Governor Bill Lee signed into law legislation (SB 536/HB194) that expands Tennessee’s Intercollegiate Athlete’s Name, Image, or Likeness Law (“student-athlete NIL statute”). Under the law, Tennessee student-athletes will have no limits on NIL compensation unless the limitations are expressly prohibited or limited by federal law, a

Tennessee has permanently extended its COVID-19 statute under an enactment that removed the sunset provision of the state’s COVID-19 statute, which was set to expire on July 1, 2023.

As of January 1, 2023, Tennessee will require all private employers with at least 35 employees to use E-Verify and maintain E-Verify case results.

E-Verify is a federal electronic database intended to aid employers in confirming that the documentation provided by new hires to establish lawful employment eligibility is in

On November 10, 2021, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced that he would sign legislation that addresses various COVID-19–related issues, including vaccine mandates and mask mandates. The law is effective immediately. There are several major issues for employers regarding COVID-19 prevention measures addressed in the new law.

On July 9, 2021, a federal district court in Nashville, Tennessee, granted a preliminary injunction, halting enforcement of a new Tennessee law on bathroom signage. That law mandates that businesses post specific signs next to their public bathrooms, if they allow people to use the bathroom that conforms with their

E-Verify will no longer allow extensions for addressing Tentative Nonconfirmations (TNCs) beginning November 5, 2020.

After relaxing processing guidelines because of processing hardships due to COVID-19, E-Verify is again enforcing its requirement that employees choosing to contest TNC notifications must take action to contact the appropriate government agency within 10

The Tennessee Department of Health has released guidelines on the length of isolation necessary for those who have contracted COVID-19 (referred to clinically in the guidance as “a Case”) and the length of quarantine for those who share living space with a Case. 

Isolation

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed the Tennessee COVID-19 Recovery Act into law on Monday, August 17, 2020.

Summary: Tennessee Governor Bill Lee issued Executive Order No. 22 on Monday, March 30, 2020, urging all Tennesseans to stay at home as much as possible except for engaging in essential activities, like obtaining food, supplies, or medical care. The Order stops short of ordering residents to stay at home. Governor Lee’s Order only closes non-essential businesses as to access or use by the public. Those businesses are instead encouraged to provide delivery or curbside service. The Order is effective at 11:59 p.m. on March 31, 2020 and shall remain in effect until April 14, 2020.

As many employers across the country are gearing up for the April 1 effective date of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act leave provisions, employers of Dallas employees were also concerned about how the City of Dallas’ Paid Sick Leave Ordinance’s April 1 enforcement date would impact them. The ordinance has been in federal litigation in the Eastern District of Texas. On March 30, 2020, United States District Judge Sean Jordan granted the Plaintiffs’ preliminary injunction and enjoined the City of Dallas or anyone “in active concert” with the City from enforcing the ordinance against any business or entity pending the resolution of lawsuit.

Rejecting the strict “ABC” test adopted by its appellate court, Tennessee has enacted a new law (H.B. 539) adopting a 20-factor test to determine employee-versus-independent contractor status. The new law becomes effective January 1, 2020.

Tennessee recently amended its Healthy Workplace Act (Act), which seeks to prevent abusive conduct at work, to cover private employers. Enacted in 2014, the Act previously applied only to public employers. The amendment, which extends the Act’s provisions to the private sector, took effect immediately when Governor Bill Lee signed the bill into law on April 23, 2019.

Tennessee employers have a new defense against employees bringing workplace environment-related lawsuits. An amendment expanding Tennessee’s Healthy Workplace Act to include private employers went into effect on April 23, 2019. Prior to the expansion, the law only applied to state and local government entities.

On April 24, 2019, Dallas became the third city in the Lone Star State to adopt an ordinance requiring all private employers to provide paid sick leave to employees, following Austin and San Antonio.

A new Tennessee law, effective July 1, 2017, imposes new reporting requirements on healthcare practitioner1 (HCP) employers. Under the new reporting law, in certain circumstances, HCP employers must “promptly” report to the state HCP employees with confirmed (positive) drug test results2 or those who refuse to submit to any work-related or directed drug test, including but not limited to pre-employment drug tests. The law does not apply to confirmed positive alcohol tests or refusals to submit to alcohol testing. The law does not contain an affirmative reporting obligation requiring reporting of information to other employers, although it does create a mechanism for certain employers to share information.