What are my rights against workplace harassment in Tennessee?

1. Federal Floor. Title VII (15+ employees) and Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, 477 U.S. 57 (1986), set the federal baseline.

2. State Statute & Agency. The Tennessee Human Rights Act (THRA), Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-21-101 et seq., is enforced by the Tennessee Human Rights Commission (THRC). THRA covers employers with 8 or more employees (T.C.A. § 4-21-102(5)).

3. Standard for Hostile Work Environment. Tennessee applies the federal "severe or pervasive" standard. The Tennessee Supreme Court in Campbell v. Florida Steel Corp., 919 S.W.2d 26 (Tenn. 1996), aligned THRA with federal Title VII analysis.

4. Protected Categories. Race, creed, color, religion, sex, age (40+), national origin (T.C.A. § 4-21-401). Tennessee does not protect sexual orientation or gender identity statewide; federal protection via Bostock v. Clayton County, 590 U.S. 644 (2020).

5. Quid Pro Quo vs Hostile Environment. Faragher v. City of Boca Raton, 524 U.S. 775 (1998), and Burlington v. Ellerth, 524 U.S. 742 (1998), control.

6. Employer Liability. Strict liability for supervisor harassment with tangible action; affirmative defense available otherwise. Public Chapter 894 (2014) eliminated individual supervisor liability under THRA.

7. Mandatory Training. Tennessee has no statewide harassment-training mandate for private employers, though state agencies have internal requirements.

8. Filing Deadline. EEOC: 300 days. THRC: 180 days (T.C.A. § 4-21-302). THRA direct court action: 1 year (T.C.A. § 4-21-311).

9. NDA Restrictions. Tennessee has not enacted a broad statewide ban on sexual-harassment NDAs; federal Speak Out Act (2022) voids pre-dispute NDAs covering sexual assault and sexual harassment.

This is legal information, not legal advice.