Tennessee Code Title 8. Public Officers and Employees § 8-50-121

Current as of January 02, 2024 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

(a) The general assembly finds that:

(1) State employees and contractors of the state do not shed their constitutional rights to freedom of speech and expression while at work;

(2) Protecting the rights to free speech and expression for state employees and contractors of the state promotes important state interests;

(3) The use of names, pronouns, and honorifics by state employees and contractors of the state is a matter of free speech and expression; and

(4) A state employee or contractor of the state should never be compelled to affirm a belief with which the employee or contractor of the state disagrees.

(b) A state employee or contractor of the state is not:

(1) Required to use the:

(A) Preferred name of a state employee, contractor of the state, or a person with whom the state employee or contractor of the state is communicating for purposes of, and within the scope of, the employee's state employment or the contractor's contract with the state, if the individual's preferred name is not the individual's legal name or a derivative thereof; or

(B) Preferred pronoun or honorific of a state employee, contractor of the state, or a person with whom the state employee or contractor of the state is communicating for purposes of, and within the scope of, the employee's state employment or the contractor's contract with the state, if the individual's preferred pronoun is not consistent with the individual's sex or the individual's preferred honorific not consistent with the individual's sex;

(2) Civilly liable for using:

(A) The legal name or a derivative thereof of a state employee, contractor of the state, or a person with whom the state employee or contractor of the state is communicating for purposes of, and within the scope of, the employee's state employment or the contractor's contract with the state when addressing or referring to the individual, even if the individual's legal name is not the individual's preferred name; or

(B) A pronoun or honorific to refer to a state employee, contractor of the state, or a person with whom the state employee or contractor of the state is communicating for purposes of, and within the scope of, the employee's state employment or the contractor's contract with the state that is consistent with the sex of the individual to whom the state employee or contractor of the state is referring, even if the pronoun or honorific is not the individual's preferred pronoun or honorific; or

(3) Subject to an adverse action for not using the:

(B) Preferred pronoun or honorific of a state employee, contractor of the state, or a person with whom the state employee or contractor of the state is communicating for purposes of, and within the scope of, the employee's state employment or the contractor's contract with the state, if the individual's preferred pronoun is inconsistent with the individual's sex or the individual's preferred honorific is not consistent with the individual's sex.

(c) The state is not civilly liable if a state employee or contractor of the state refers to a state employee, contractor of the state, or a person with whom the state employee or contractor of the state is communicating for purposes of, and within the scope of, the employee's state employment or the contractor's contract with the state using:

(1) The individual's legal name or a derivative thereof, even if the individual's legal name is not the individual's preferred name; or

(2) A pronoun or honorific that is consistent with the sex of the individual to whom the state employee is referring, even if the pronoun or honorific is not the individual's preferred pronoun, or honorific.

(d) The state or a state employee or contractor of the state shall not require a state employee, contractor, or a person with whom the state employee or contractor is communicating for purposes of, and within the scope of, the employee's state employment or the contractor's contract with the state to provide the individual's preferred pronouns or honorifics, and shall not subject a state employee, contractor, or a person with whom the state employee or contractor is communicating for purposes of, and within the scope of, the employee's state employment or the contractor's contract with the state to an adverse action for refusing to provide the individual's preferred pronouns or honorifics.

(e) Each state board, commission, department, agency, and contractor shall annually notify its employees and personnel of the prohibition in subsection (d). The notice must be submitted to employees and personnel separate from any other notice or report provided by the state board, commission, department, agency, or contractor. Subsection (d) does not apply to public institutions of higher education.

(f) As used in this section, “state employee” or “contractor of the state” does not include an employee, faculty member, or contractor of a public institution of higher education.

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Tennessee Code Title 8. Public Officers and Employees § 8-50-121 - last updated January 02, 2024 | https://codes.findlaw.com/tn/title-8-public-officers-and-employees/tn-code-sect-8-50-121/

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