Discrimination. The
Tennessee Human Rights Act prohibits hiring practices that discriminate based on race, creed, color, religion, sex, age, or national origin, unless the characteristic is a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ). The Act applies to all public employers and to private employers with eight or more employees (Tenn. Code § 4-21-101 et seq.). A separate law prohibits discrimination based on mental or physical disability (Tenn. Code § 8-50-103 et seq.). More information is available at the
Tennessee Discrimination and https://hr.blr.com/analysis/Discrimination/Disabilities-ADA/Tennessee sections.
Veterans’ preference. A private employer may adopt a policy that gives preference in hiring to veterans, the spouses of disabled veterans, and the unremarried widows or widowers of a veteran who died in service or from a service-related disability (Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-1-107). In public employment, veterans and, in some cases, their spouses are entitled to preference in hiring (Tenn. Code Ann. § 8-30-306).
Criminal history. Under state law, local governments may not prohibit a private employer from requesting any information on an application for employment or during the hiring process (Tenn. Code § 7-51-1802). The law effectively prohibits local governments from implementing ban-the-box laws that affect private employers.
State agencies and other state government employers are prohibited from inquiring about a job applicant’s criminal history on an initial job application form (Tenn. Code § 8-50-112). An employer may inquire about an applicant’s criminal history after the initial screening of applications. If an employer inquires, it must give the applicant an opportunity to provide an ...
