Tennessee Employment Legal Questions

I am very sorry to hear this.  The short answer to your question is: no, the employer cannot make you resign.  However, failure to show up for work can be treated either as a quit (job abandonment) or be a reason to simply terminate you.  You have no job protection in this situation unless you work for an FMLA covered employer and are an FMLA covered employee.... Read More

I assume you are asking "is it legal?" The answer to that question is, yes.  Your employer can lawfully hire a new employee in your same position and pay them more.  The only legal claim would be if you can show there is an unlawful motive to pay you less such as unlawful discrimination or unlawful retaliation.... Read More

Not sure exactly what you are asking.  I will assume that you mean you have a work issued radio that you receive calls on during work hours and you want to turn it off during lunch. If so, techically the employer cannot force you to do anything you do not want to do  However, the employer can fire you for not having your radio on during lunch.... Read More

There is no law that prohibits the company from tellling employees why the person was fired.  However, there are numerous reasons that telling employees would create legal problems for the company. So, in a way, there are legal reasons not to tell employees. It is also just good HR practice not to discuss the reasons a person was terminated with employees.... Read More

Proabably not much you can do.  Harassment in Tennessee is unlawful only if it is directed toward you due to a protected class inlcuding race, color, sex, national origin, religion, disability or age 40 or older. So, if it happened to you because you are biracial (and not for some other reason not related to those protected classes, then you may have a claim if there are some other criteria met.  However, in general, employers in Tennessee can treat their employees terribly.... Read More

Consult with an experienced employment attorney before the termination if possible.  It will cost a little money, but the consultation will help you get prepared and put you in the best position you can be in to move forward with a claim.  However, Tennessee is an employment-at-will state 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.  Additionally, harassment is unlawful in Tennessee only if it is directed to you on the basis of an unlawful factor such as race, color, sex, national origin, religion, disability or age 40 or older.  ... Read More

Is it right?  That is not a question that we can answer.  Is it lawful?  Maybe.  It is not unlawful to the employer to not allow you to "clock in." However, it would be unlawful for the employer to not pay you for the time that you work. The employer will be allowed to delay your pay until the next regularly scheduled pay day for the time period that you worked.... Read More

I do not see a question here.  However, this would be the type of question that you would want to pose directly to an employment attorney as opposed to posting here because there would be many facts that we would need.  Also, I see that you mention the VA.  If you are a federal employee, you will need an employment attorney who is experienced in representing federal employees. ... Read More

You may have certain rights under our disabilty discrimination laws. In certain cases, employers are required to provide you with a reasonable accomodation of a disability which would allow you to complete the essential functions of your job.  I recommend speaking with an experienced employment attorney as soon as possible. ... Read More

It depends on the employer's size and what the employer knew or allowed.  Tennessee does not have its own wage and hour act which means federal wage and hour law is the only option.  The FLSA only applies to employers with $500,000 or more in gross receipts.  At that level or above, then you may be able to file a claim under the FLSA. The FLSA, in general, requires an employer to pay an employee for all hours worked if that employee is non-exempt. It is "in general" because there are some exceptions such as when an employee has been ordered not to work or the employee is effectively hiding hours from the employer.  As for exempt employees, simply paying a salary is sufficient.  If your employer has gross revenue higher than the above, I would recommend at least talking to an experienced employment attorney about your situation. ... Read More

Probably not.  Employer policies are not legally enforceable in Tennessee.  In other words, the employer can decide in each situation whether it wants to follow its policy or not. In limited circumstances, an employee who is not hired full time might be able to file a discrimination claim if the failure to hire was due to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, disability or age 40 or older. ... Read More

"Chinese overtime" is not a legal term. You probably are referring to a fluctuating workweek flat salary situation.  In any case, the Fair Labor Standards Act has a statute of limitation period of 2 years and, in some very limited circumstances, 3 years.  Here is the thing: it is a rolling statute of limitations. That means the statue runs backwards in time.  Each day moving forward is a day lost off "the back end."  You should consult with an experienced employment attorney as soon as possible if you want to move forward with a possible claim. ... 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 do not immediately see any unlawful retaliation although it is possible if what the manager was doing was unlawful in some way.  Paying people for time they do not work or violating company policy, by themselves, are not unlawful therefore reporting such actions would likely not be protected. However, if you want more information and to be able to more fully discuss your situation, you should consult with an experienced employment attorney about this.... Read More

In Tennessee it is lawful to record a conversation only if you are a party to the conversation.  There is a danger that wearing a microphone continually will record conversations that you are not a party to.  However, employers in Tennessee can legally prohibit employees from recording conversations in the workplace including ones that they are a party to.  So, even if you are only recording coversations you are a party to at your workplace, your employer can still terminate your employment for doing so.... Read More

These are very complex questions that a fact intensive and have varying legal answers depending on the circumstance.  For example, there are situations in which on-call time is compensable and situations where it is not.  There are some, although very few, situations where travel time is covered.  Set a consulation with an experienced employment attorney to discuss in depth.... Read More

The federal Employee Polygraph Protection Act prohibits private (non-governmental) employersfrom subjecting employees to a polygraph.  However, there are some exceptions. For example, in certain limited situations, an employer may require a polygraph of an employee who it reasonably suspects may have been involved in certain workplace incidents that led to an economic loss for the employer. ... Read More