Workplace Protection

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Workplace Protection

Reference Number: MTAS-195
Reviewed Date: 09/04/2026

Overview
Tennessee law protects city employees from workplace violence, abusive conduct, retaliation for whistleblowing, and interference with contacting elected officials. This page summarizes each protection and the statutes behind it.

Workplace violence
Workplace violence is any physical assault, threatening behavior, or verbal abuse that happens in the workplace. The workplace is any location, permanent or temporary, where an employee performs work duties.

OSHA groups workplace violence into four types:

  • Type I: violence by strangers
  • Type II: violence by customers or citizens
  • Type III: violence by co-workers
  • Type IV: violence by personal relations

An employer, including a local government, that has an employee who has suffered workplace violence may seek a restraining order or injunction against further violence while the employee is in the workplace or performing work. See T.C.A. §§ 20-14-101, et seq. "Unlawful violence" means assault, aggravated assault, stalking, intimidation, or extortion under T.C.A. §§ 39-13-101, 39-13-102, 39-17-315, 39-17-309, and 39-14-112.

Tennessee Healthy Workplace Act
Under T.C.A. § 50-1-503, the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) created a model policy to help employers recognize and respond to abusive conduct in the workplace and prevent retaliation against employees who report it.
Under T.C.A. § 50-1-504, if an employer adopts the TACIR model policy (or a policy that conforms to the required content), the employer is immune from suit for an employee's abusive conduct that results in negligent or intentional infliction of mental anguish. The immunity does not shield the individual employee from personal liability.

Whistleblower protection (TPPA)
"Blowing the whistle" means reporting violations of the law or of the public trust. Tennessee has two whistleblower statutes:

  • T.C.A. § 50-1-304(b): cities cannot discharge an employee solely for refusing to participate in, or remain silent about, illegal activities.
  • T.C.A. § 50-3-409: protects public and private employees from retaliation for speaking out about an occupational safety or health violation.

To win a Tennessee Public Protection Act claim, the employee must show four things: they were an employee; they refused to participate in or remain quiet about illegal activity; they were terminated; and a causal connection exists between the refusal and the termination. A prevailing employee may recover reasonable attorney fees and costs under T.C.A. § 50-1-304(f).

Tennessee Anti-SLAPP Act
The Tennessee Anti-SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Political Participation) Act of 1997 grants immunity to individuals who, in good faith, report wrongdoing on a public or government matter to the appropriate government agency (T.C.A. § 4-21-1002(a)). The government agency may intervene in the lawsuit. Immunity does not apply if the person knew the information was false, recklessly disregarded the truth, or reported on a private (non-public) figure (T.C.A. § 4-21-1003(b)). The winner on the immunity defense may recover costs and reasonable attorney fees (T.C.A. § 4-21-1003(c), et seq.).

Employee's right to contact elected officials
Under T.C.A. § 8-50-602(a), a public employee may not be prohibited from communicating with an elected official on any job-related matter. Discipline or discrimination against an employee for this reason is prohibited, and violations can trigger triple damages under T.C.A. § 8-50-603(a). An employer may still correct or reprimand an employee for making untrue allegations about a job-related matter. See T.C.A. §§ 8-50-601 through 8-50-604.

Statutory anchors

  • T.C.A. §§ 20-14-101, et seq. (workplace violence injunctions)
  • T.C.A. §§ 39-13-101, 39-13-102, 39-17-309, 39-17-315, 39-14-112 (underlying violent-crime definitions)
  • T.C.A. §§ 50-1-503, 50-1-504 (Tennessee Healthy Workplace Act)
  • T.C.A. §§ 50-1-304, 50-3-409 (whistleblower protections)
  • T.C.A. §§ 4-21-1002, 4-21-1003 (Anti-SLAPP)
  • T.C.A. §§ 8-50-601 through 8-50-604 (right to contact elected officials)

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