Employment law update tennessee

Victims must also be notified 60 days before destruction or disposal of the evidence. The measure ensures child custody rights are removed for those who are convicted or plead guilty to a lesser offense of rape. It adds aggravated statutory rape and statutory rape by an authority figure to the list of offenses for which the offender will be prohibited from having custody rights. The new law adds a victim is incapable of defense if sexual contact occurs during the course of a consultation, examination, treatment, therapy or other professional service that are provided by a physician, psychologist, psychiatrist, therapist, social worker, nurse, chemical dependency counselor or a member of the clergy.

Rape of a Child by a Juvenile — Legislation aiming to prevent juveniles who are sex offenders from reoffending or further traumatizing victims has passed the General Assembly. The measure ensures that a juvenile convicted of conduct that would constitute rape, aggravated rape, rape of a child or aggravated rape of a child if committed by an adult cannot work or volunteer at a place that is in close or frequent contact with children.

The new law stems from an incident where a juvenile convicted of raping a 5-year-old boy was volunteering at an elementary school where the victim was zoned to attend. Lifetime Order of Protection — Several important bills were approved before lawmakers adjourned the session to help victims subjected to stalking and domestic violence.

This includes a new statute which creates a lifetime order of protection that can be issued to a victim of certain felony offenses to prohibit the offender from coming around or communicating with them. Under this legislation, a victim of a felony offense of assault, criminal homicide, attempted homicide, kidnapping, or sexual offenses may file a petition for a lifetime order of protection against their convicted offender. It also permits service of ex parte orders of protection for up to one year from issuance.

It ensures communication between a victim of domestic violence or sexual abuse and a trained victim advocate remains confidential through statutory protections.

Animal Cruelty — Aggravated animal cruelty is a grave crime that includes intentionally killing or causing serious physical harm to a companion animal such as a dog or a cat.

State lawmakers approved legislation in to remove barriers to prosecute aggravated animal cruelty cases in Tennessee. It provides that a person commits aggravated cruelty to animals when, with no justifiable purpose, the person intentionally or knowingly kills, maims, tortures, crushes, burns, drowns, suffocates, mutilates, starves, or otherwise causes serious physical injury, a substantial risk of death, or death to a companion animal. Mail theft is currently charged under existing theft statutes, which applies penalties based on the value of the item stolen.

The first offense will continue to be punished based on the value of the stolen item. However, the legislation stipulates that the second or subsequent offense of mail theft must at least be charged as a Class E felony. Catalytic Converter Theft — Nationwide, police are reporting a surge in thefts of catalytic converters on automobiles. This year, the Tennessee General Assembly approved legislation requiring any person who buys unattached catalytic converters to be registered as a scrap metal dealer in a fixed location business and to track purchases.

In addition, it ensures the person selling a detached catalytic converter provides documentation and identification. Catalytic converters contain three precious metals — rhodium, palladium and platinum. This has fueled a black market in stolen catalytic converters, which can be sawed off the underside of a car in less than a minute. Drag racing — The Senate and House of Representatives approved legislation to discourage drag racing, which is becoming an increasing public safety issue on Tennessee roadways.

It stiffens the penalty for drag racing from a Class B misdemeanor to a Class A misdemeanor to deter drivers from engaging in this reckless behavior. Beyond the increase in force at the moment of impact in a collision, traveling at excessive speed imposes many obstacles to the safe operation of a motor vehicle.

These include decreased reaction time to avoid vehicles or pedestrians, inability to safely turn or to retain control through curves, increased risk of skidding off roads, increased rollover risk, etc.

Enhanced penalties for aggravated riots — A new law passed this year adds to the offense of aggravated rioting to include those who are compensated to participate in a riot or travel from outside the state to participate. Protecting Law Enforcement Informants — Over the past several years, law enforcement has seen a decline in the number of people willing to work with them due to instances where defendants are intimidating informants.

This includes posting the informants information on social media. Legislation passed this year seeks to protect the identifying information of informants to help remedy this issue. The new law states that if a district attorney general is required to disclose to the defendant personal identifying information or statements made by a law enforcement informant or witness in certain cases, then the district attorney general may petition the court for a protective order.

The order prohibits the defendant and their counsel from publishing the information or statements made before or during the trial. The new law applies to cases when the defendant knew that the person was acting as a Good Samaritan.

Firing a Firearm from a Vehicle — A new law has passed making it reckless endangerment subject to a Class C felony to fire a firearm from within a motor vehicle, enhancing penalties for the crime. This includes legislation recommended by the Tennessee Criminal Justice Reinvestment Task Force to streamline and appropriately leverage alternatives to incarceration, namely Recovery Courts and felony probation.

Studies show these courts have an excellent track record for individuals who require specialized and highly accountable treatment. It also gives judges the discretion to provide treatment for individuals who need it when the facts of their case indicate that a Recovery Court is the best correction option available.

In addition, the new law puts a limit on the amount of time an individual can be sentenced to probation, with the ability for this time to be extended each year for specific case-by-case situations. The legislation brings the cap for probation down from 10 years to a maximum of eight years, except for defendants who receive multiple convictions.

Judges will have the discretion for crediting time served while on probation. Finally, the legislation standardizes parole revocation practices for technical violations.

Approximately 40 percent of prisoners rearrested go back to prison because they broke their parole due to technical violations, not for committing new crimes. The new law is a multi-pronged approach to help improve public safety and facilitate positive outcomes for those leaving incarceration.

It establishes mandatory supervision, so all individuals exiting state custody will have a minimum of one-year supervised reentry integration. Thirty-seven percent of the current felony population expire their sentence, returning to the community without oversight.

This legislation addresses this problem by helping these individuals with a pathway to a productive life beyond crime, to ultimately improve public safety by utilizing validated, nationally-tested practices for community supervision. The mandatory supervision does not create automatic parole eligibility for those who are not eligible, including those convicted of certain particularly violent or egregious crimes and those who are to life without parole or to the death penalty.

Eligible inmates are those who are serving a nonviolent felony offense or a sentence for a Class E or Class D felony offense. The inmate must have no disciplinary record, be designated low risk for community supervision and must have completed or be enrolled in recommended programing to help ensure successful reentry into society.

If the Board of Parole declines parole, the time period for the next hearing would be set at six years, instead of 10 as provided under current law, unless an inmate is serving a sentence for multiple first-degree murder or facilitation of first-degree murder. As part of the Reentry Success Act of , local jail grants will be provided to facilities which design and implement strategies which improve the likelihood of successful integration back into the community following release from prison and empirically demonstrate they are effective.

Section 17 became effective May 11, , Section 18 became effective May 11, for the purpose of rule promulgation, but for other purposes will take effect October 1, The legislation requires the Administrative Office of Courts to provide each court clerk in eight counties which have not installed Tennessee Court Information System TN CIS with a list of data that is required to be integrated.

Expunction for Employment — The General Assembly acted this year to help remove barriers for employment and education for Tennesseans with nonviolent or low-level assault offenses on their criminal record.

It allows these individuals to have their record expunged in very limiting circumstances. The legislation offers those who have made mistakes in their past and paid their debt to society a second chance so they can find housing, employment and provide for their family. Similarly, a new law makes a simple assault committed after July 1, eligible for consideration of expungement.

The new law does not apply to those convicted of domestic abuse. The new law provides legislators, judges, law enforcement officials and other stakeholders with more accurate information by modernizing and standardizing information collected by juvenile courts across the state. This includes challenges to the constitutionality of a state statute that apportions or redistricts state legislative or congressional districts. The Supreme Court will select two trial court judges of courts of record to sit with the judge to whom the civil action was originally assigned as the three-judge panel to hear and decide the civil action.

It speeds up the process to the higher court so the issue can be resolved timely rather than leaving it in limbo. The legislation is named for Master Patrol Officer Spencer Bristol who was struck and killed on December 30, by a vehicle while involved in a foot pursuit of a subject. Officer Bristol was a U. Navy veteran who served in the Hendersonville Police Department for four years.

Previously, penalties for evading arrest on foot were far less stringent than those imposed for suspects fleeing in a vehicle. The new law puts the crime of fleeing on foot and in a vehicle in parity. If evading arrest results in serious bodily injury of a law enforcement officer, the penalty is increased to a Class C felony, punishable by 3 to 15 years in prison. The sentence is increased to a Class A felony, punishable by 15 to 60 years in prison, if the offense results in the death of a law enforcement officer.

This includes punishment of life without parole or the death penalty. Supporting Law Enforcement Officers — Another bill passed this year provides that a reward be offered for information leading to the arrest of any individual responsible for shooting a law enforcement officer in the line of duty. Retired Law Enforcement Officers — Another law passed this year allows retired law enforcement officers, authorized to carry a firearm in the same manner as an active one, to provide private security services without completing the firearms training required for private protective services licensing.

The new law creates a two-year pilot program which provides enhanced cash assistance to individuals who are actively pursuing educational opportunities. There are still questions to be answered regarding this new law, including whether it will be challenged in court, what the process for requesting an exemption will look like, and whether Tennessee will adopt the federal COVID Vaccination and Testing ETS.

Court Finds Worker Failed To Take Advantage Of Corrective Measures Offered By Company A federal appellate court recently rejected a lawsuit brought by an employee who claimed that she was subjected to a sexually hostile work environment. William S. Rutchow Nashville Author. Vaccine Mandates The law does not prohibit private employers from adopting vaccine mandates. Mask Mandates An earlier version of the legislation sought to prohibit mask mandates entirely. Unemployment Benefits The law allows employees discharged for refusing to be vaccinated to receive unemployment benefits—and it is retroactive.

Medicare and Medicaid Vaccine Requirements The law excludes from its coverage healthcare providers that are subject to Medicare or Medicaid vaccine requirements.

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