Under the Tennessee Public Protection Act (TPPA), also known as “the whistleblowing statute,” it’s illegal to fire an employee if the sole cause for the termination was for refusing to either remain silent about or to...more
Federal law (as well as many states’ law) forbids an employer from retaliating against an employee who engages in protected activity, such as complaining of unlawful discrimination. One way that many employees seek to...more
Like Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Tennessee Human Rights Act (THRA) forbids sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination. To be actionable, the harassment must be so severe or pervasive that it creates...more
11/8/2019
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Evidence ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Human Rights Act ,
Jury Trial ,
Motion for Summary Judgment ,
Paid Leave ,
Retaliation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Title VII
Government employees enjoy more protection than employees of private-sector companies when it comes to speaking their minds about politics or other matters of public concern outside the workplace. A public employee may not be...more
An individual may file a claim under Tennessee’s “whistleblower statute”—the Tennessee Public Protection Act (TPPA)—if she was fired solely for reporting or refusing to participate in illegal activity. Similar to federal law,...more
7/8/2019
/ Appeals ,
Burden of Proof ,
Dismissals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hostile Environment ,
Human Rights Act ,
Illegal Activity ,
Jury Trial ,
Summary Judgment ,
Trial Court Orders ,
Whistleblowers
Under the Tennessee Public Protection Act (TPPA), also known as the “whistleblower statute,” it is unlawful to fire an employee “solely for refusing to participate in, or for refusing to remain silent about, illegal...more
2/19/2019
/ Appeals ,
Dismissals ,
Employment Litigation ,
Evidence ,
Excessive Force ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Illegal Activity ,
Resignation ,
Retaliation ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Whistleblower Protection Policies ,
Whistleblowers
Jerry’s generally a good employee, but he hasn’t been acting quite right. Co-workers have been taken aback that he’s lost his cool over relatively trivial issues. Although he hasn’t made any overt threats, he gets worked up...more
1/22/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Duty to Accommodate ,
Employee Misconduct ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Interactive Process ,
Mental Health ,
Mental Illness ,
Workplace Safety ,
Workplace Violence ,
Zero Tolerance Policies
In a previous piece, I wrote about a diabetic worker in East Tennessee who won a jury award in an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) case against Dollar General. The worker was fired for violating Dollar General’s grazing...more
8/21/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Attorney's Fees ,
Damages ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Interactive Process ,
Jury Awards ,
Reasonable Accommodation
Back in April 2017, the federal 7th Circuit Court of Appeals (governing Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin) made big news when it determined that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prevents employers from discriminating...more
3/23/2018
/ Civil Rights Act ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Gender Discrimination ,
Gender Identity ,
Gender Neutral ,
Hiring & Firing ,
LGBTQ ,
Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Orientation ,
Sexual Orientation Discrimination ,
Title VII ,
Transgender
In November 2017, the Tennessee Court of Appeals upheld a Nashville trial court’s determination that a former employee violated his noncompete agreement by managing employees who solicited competing business in the restricted...more
Last month, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam signed into law legislation (Public Chapter 995) that will significantly amend the Tennessee Human Rights Act (“THRA”), the Tennessee Public Protection Act (“TPPA”), and the...more