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.
Articles About Tennessee Labor And Employment Law
Employers Escape Private Claims under the Tennessee Tip Statute
Executive Summary: In Hardy v. Tournament Players Club Southwind, the Tennessee Supreme Court held that an employee cannot pursue a private right of action under the Tennessee Tip Statute, T.C.A. § 50-2-107. This statute sets forth an employer’s duty to pay service charges, tips, and gratuities to its tipped employees. This decision overrules the Tennessee Court of Appeal’s ruling in Owens v. University Club, which held that an employee may pursue a civil action against an employer under the statute.
Tennessee Court of Appeals Cleans Up Questions on Dog Groomers’ Employment Status
Executive Summary: Individuals performing the main function of your business cannot be classified as independent contractors in Tennessee. At least, that’s what the Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled recently when analyzing whether the Tennessee Department of Workforce Development properly held a pet groomer liable for unpaid unemployment taxes from 2006 through 2011.
2016 Tennessee Legislative Update
In its latest session, the Tennessee Legislature passed four bills that affect Tennessee public and private employers’ workplace policies and procedures.
Tennessee Legislative Update
Executive Summary: Governor Haslam recently signed several bills into law that will impact Tennessee employees and employers in both the public and private sectors. Employers may wish to reassess certain policies and practices in light of these changes.
Tennessee Amends Data Breach Notification Statute to Cover Encrypted Data and Address Timing
An amendment to the Tennessee’s data breach notification statute has eliminated a provision requiring notice only in the event of a breach of unencrypted personal information. Accordingly, it appears that Tennessee is the first state in the country to require breach notification regardless of whether the affected information was encrypted. The amendment (S.B. 2005), signed by Governor Bill Haslam on March 24, 2016, will take effect on July 1, 2016.
Tennessee Amends Breach Notification Statute
On March 24, 2016, Tennessee’s breach notification statute was amended when Governor Bill Hallam signed into law S.B. 2005.
Tennessee in Last Stages of Approving Guns on Campus
The Tennessee Senate has approved passage of a bill that will permit public college and university employees and students holding handgun carry permits to transport or store a firearm or ammunition in their own vehicles on campus without facing any adverse or disciplinary action. The House has passed a nearly identical companion bill. If the Senate adopts the House version, the bill will go to Governor Bill Haslam, who likely will sign it into law.
Tennessee Supreme Court Throws Out Applicant’s Workers’ Compensation Retaliation Claim Against Prospective Employer
Executive Summary: On August 21, 2015, the Tennessee Supreme Court held that a job applicant does not have a cause of action under the Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Act (TWCA) against a prospective employer for failure to hire based on the applicant’s workers’ compensation claim against a previous employer. Yardley v. Hospital Housekeeping Systems, LLC.
Job Applicant Cannot Sue for Failure to Hire under Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Act
Ruling on a question of law from a federal district court, the Tennessee Supreme Court has determined that a job applicant has no cause of action against a prospective employer in Tennessee if the prospective employer failed to hire the job applicant because the applicant had filed, or is likely to file, a workers’ compensation claim against a previous employer. Yardley v. Hospital Housekeeping Systems, LLC, No. M2014-01723-SC-R23-CV (Aug. 21, 2015).
Restaurant Industry Update: Tennessee Court of Appeal Permits Lawsuit under State Tip Law to Proceed
Executive Summary: The Tennessee Court of Appeal has held that a bartender can proceed with her lawsuit under §107 of the Tennessee Wage Regulation Act (TWRA), claiming her employer failed to pay her and other similarly situated employees tips and that it distributed tips among tipped and non-tipped employees in violation of the law. See Hardy v. Tournament Players Club (July 2, 2015). In reaching this decision, the court held that the General Assembly’s 2013 amendments to §50-2-101 of the TWRA, providing that the Department of Labor and Workforce Development will enforce that section and eliminating the reference to civil litigation, did not deprive individuals of the right to bring a lawsuit under §50-2-107 (addressing payment of tips).
Tennessee Federal Court Refuses To Apply Inevitable Disclosure Doctrine
Williams-Sonoma is embroiled in a contentious trade secret theft case with its former executive and direct competitor. On June 18, 2015, a federal district court in Tennessee granted a preliminary injunction motion to enjoin Williams-Sonoma’s former vice president and direct competitor from using confidential business information, soliciting Williams-Sonoma employees, and destroying electronic evidence. But the federal court refused to give Williams-Sonoma everything it requested.
Tennessee Governor Signs Legislation Providing Additional Employment Protections for Handgun Owners
Executive summary: Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam has signed legislation providing new employment protections for handgun owners. As discussed in more detail in our March 25, 2015 Alert, the new law creates a private right of action for any employee who is terminated solely for storing a firearm or ammunition in the employee’s vehicle while parked in the employer’s parking lot. The law represents yet another outgrowth of the controversial “Guns in Trunks” legislation passed by the General Assembly in 2013.
Federal Court Invalidates Tennessee Choice-of-Law Clause in Louisiana Employee’s Non-Compete
The federal district for the Western District of Louisiana added to the growing list of decisions that have applied Louisiana’s non-compete statute to invalidate choice-of-law or forum-selection clauses. These decisions have struck down clauses that, on their faces, would have required Louisiana employees of non-Louisiana employers to litigate under the law or in the courts of some other state. The decisions should also serve as a reminder that employers should not take a one-size-fits-all approach when drafting non-competes for employees residing in multiple states.
Whistleblowing in Tennessee: Does It Matter Who Hears the Whistle?
A whistleblower claims he was fired because he complained about wrongful conduct, and sues for retaliation. For the claim to survive, does it matter who hears the whistleblower’s whistle? The Tennessee Supreme Court has answered this question with an emphatic “yes.” In Charles Haynes v. Formac Stables, Inc.,1 the court dismissed a whistleblower’s claim because he complained only to the person who committed the illegal conduct. The court held that in order for the whistleblower to state a valid retaliation claim, he must reveal the illegal conduct to someone other than the alleged wrongdoer.