Tennessee Employment Legal Questions

In Tennessee, an unlawful hostile environment is one that is based on protected characteristics such as race, sex, religion disability, etc. If the hostile environment is not based on a protected characteristic, then it is simply not unlawu.  Retaliation is unlawful in Tennessee if the retaliation is based on the employee engaging in a "protected activity."  In general, refusal comply with an unethical request is not unlawful.  However, if could be unlawful if it was a request that you violate the law.... Read More

Tennessee is an employment-at-will state where an employer can terminate you or refuse to hire for good reason, bad reason or no reason at all.  You can file a legal claim, however, if you can show there was an unlawful motive for the termination or refusal to hire.  Age discrimination would be an unlawful motive. The issue is always: how can you prove the unlawful motive?... Read More

Race based wage discrimination of the kind you allege here is unlawful.  The issue will be proving the claim in court.  The black employees must file a claim with the EEOC or the THRC within a very short time period.  However, they really should consult with an experienced employment attorney before filing such a claim if possible.... Read More

Tennessee is an employment-at-will state which means you can be fired for any reason and there is no liability for the employer unless there is an unlawful motive for the action taken against you.   Terminating an employee who is absent from work is not unlawful regardless of whether you have a doctor's note or sick/vacation leave.  The only way this would be a violation of the law is if your sickness was part of a larger issue such as a serious health condition or disability.  If it was either, then you might - not certain, but might -- have rights under one of the two following laws: The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides covered employees who work for covered employers with up to 12 weeks of leave for a serious health condition.  Not all employers and not all employees are covered by FMLA.  The serious health condition can be the employee's own or of an immediate family member. At a minimum, the employer must have at least 50 employees and the employee must have worked at least 12 months and more than 1250 hours. In general, things such as colds, the flu, upset stomach, dental problems and the like are not serious health problems. If an employee on FMLA is able to return to work in 12 weeks or less, then the employer must return the employee to the same or equivalent position.  Employees are also allow to take FMLA on a intermittent basis (here and there as needed).FMLA makes it unlawful for a covered employer to interfere with an employee's FMLA rights or leave or retaliate against an employee for exercising FMLA rights. The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against employees or applicants for employment due to a disability.  The ADA also requires an employer to provide a reasonable accommodation to an employee or applicant with a disability that will allow the person to perform the essential functions of the job.  Time away from work can be a reasonable accommodation in certain situations.  ... Read More

Tennessee is an employment-at-will state which means you can be fired for any reason and there is no liability for the employer unless there is an unlawful motive for the action taken against you. There are generally only two forms of unlawful motives: unlawful discrimination or unlawful retaliation. Discrimination in employment is unlawful if it is due to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, disability or age 40 or older. Retaliation in employment is unlawful if you engaged in one of a handful of "legally protected" activities and were fired for engaging in that activity. If either of these was the motive for the termination, then you may have a claim for unlawful termination. I see you mention race with respect to the termination of other employees.  If race was the motivation for their terminations (or yours), then there would be a potential claim based on race discrimination.    I strongly recommend that you consult with an experienced employment attorney if you wish to pursue this matter. Additionally, if you believe race is a factor in your termination and the other employees termanation, then there is certainly strenth in numbers and working with one attorney for all of you makes sense.... Read More

That is terrible. I am not sure what your question is though. If you have filed some type of legal claim (which is not described in your post), you will need to get an attorney to represent you in that claim.  The fact that your attorney was suspended has little to no impact on the legal claim that he was representing you in. However, if you are involved in a lawsuit, the judge will likely allow you some additionaly time to retain a new attorney. I would recommend using the Find A Lawyer feature at the top of this page and select an area of the law that applies to your situation. The same would be true for making another post here or asking a question. For example, this post was in the Labor and Employment topic area, but you do not provide any information about what happened at to you at work that you believe is a legal claim.... Read More

I may not understand your question.  However, as long as you are making at least minimum wage, an employer can reduce your pay for any reason.  In rare circumstances, you can have a claim for a pay reduction, but only if it is based on things such as unlawful discrimiation or unlawful retaliation.... Read More

That is not exactly the law.  The law in Tennessee requires the employer to provide employees who are scheduled to work at least 6 consecutive hours with a 30 minute unpaid break unless the workplace environment allows ample opportunity for breaks. The employer is not required to deduct the 30 minutes and could provide it as a paid break. if the employer is not allowing you a 30 minute break, then in most cases this would be unlawful unless there is ample opportunity to rest or take a break.  Additionally, if the employer is not allowing you to have a break, then that must be work time which means the employer has to pay you for that time if you are non-exempt.  Additionally, the employer must pay all non-exempt employees for all time work.   So, whether you are getting a break or not, if you are being shorted 1 to 2 hours per day, then it is likely a violation of the law.  You should consult with an experienced employment attorney.... Read More

If you earned the money, they cannot deduct any money from your paycheck without your written consent. Now, if that money is for days that you won't be working because you are leaving, i.e. unearned money, then they do not have to pay you. If the employer fails to pay you earned money and there is no written consent, you can contact the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development to file a complaint.... Read More

No. In certain circumstances an employer is required to accomodate an employee's religious practice, but only if it is due to a sincerely held religious belief.  Even if it is part of such belief, an employer can deny a religious accomodation if there is a burden on the employer.  The burden does not have to be great to allow denial of the religious practice.... Read More

Not sure what you mean by the word "discrete" in this context.  Anyway, the law in Tennessee allows a boss to be mean or hateful or pay employees more or less than other employees as long as it is not on the basis of unlawful discrimination such as race, color, sex, national origin, religion or agr 40 or older.... Read More

Yes.  An employer can pay an employee more than that employee's manager. The law only requires minimum wage, overtime if an employee is non-exempt and a base salary with no overtime if the employee is non-exempt.  There is no requirement that a manager or supervisor be paid more.  Actually, there are many situations where employees make more than their manages such as sales people or professionals.... Read More

There is never a legal reason to quit.  If you quit, you will almost gaurantee that you will not get unemployment.  I am not saying you will get it if you do not quit, but you certainly stand a better chance if the employer fires you.  Also, if you have a condition that substantially limits a major life activity, you may be entitled to a reasonable accomodation under the Americans With Disabilities Act which can include assistance with job functions to get you back to work or even leave beyond your FMLA allotment.... Read More

There is never a legal reason to quit.  If you quit, you will almost gaurantee that you will not get unemployment.  I am not saying you will get it if you do not quit, but you certainly stand a better chance if the employer fires you.  Also, if you have a condition that substantially limits a major life activity, you may be entitled to a reasonable accomodation under the Americans With Disabilities Act which can include assistance with job functions to get you back to work or even leave beyond your FMLA allotment.... Read More

Tennessee law requires employees to be given a 30 minute break if they are scheduled to work 6 consecutive hours.  Although, some employers are not required to provide such a break if the nature of the work will allow rest periods.  Contact the TN Department of Workforce Development for more informaiton or to pursue this matter.... Read More

I am really not clear on what exactly happened.  However, to have maternity leave that is protected, you have to qualify for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). If you do qualify, and are able to return from maternity leave within 12 weeks, then the employer is required to return you to the same or substantially simliar job. So you know, Sedgewick simply processes certain types of claims or leaves for Walmart.  Only FMLA is protected.... Read More