Tennessee’s 2014 legislative session has ended with a couple of bills that require mention. Employers need to know about the “Employee Online Privacy Act of 2014” and the “Healthy Workplace Act”.
Tennessee Employee Online Privacy Act of 2014
This law becomes effective January 1, 2015 and essentially stipulates what an employer can and cannot request or require of an employee or applicant concerning internet privacy. Specifically, it prevents employers from requesting or requiring employees or applicants to divulge their personal account usernames and passwords. Furthermore, employers are prohibited from:
- Demanding an employee or applicant add the employer to the contacts list associated with his/her personal internet account
- Compelling an employee or applicant to access their personal internet account so that the employer can look at the contents
- Taking adverse action against an employee or applicant because they declined to disclose their personal internet account information
There are exceptions to the law which include instances where a device is paid for by the employer or in the event of an investigation where an employer has specific information about an unauthorized transfer of proprietary/financial information.
Tennessee Healthy Workplace Act
Anti-bullying in the workplace legislation has been a hot topic lately. Tennessee legislators have addressed the concern with the passage of the Healthy Workplace Act, a law that affects the practices of state and local government agencies, private employers are not covered. No later than March 1, 2015, the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) must create a model policy for employers to prevent abusive conduct in the workplace.
Under the law, abusive conduct means acts or omissions that would cause a reasonable person, based on the severity, nature, and frequency of the conduct, to believe that he/she was subject to an abusive work environment. Some examples include:
- Repeated verbal abuse in the workplace, including derogatory remarks, insults and epithets
- Verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct of a threatening , intimidating, or humiliating nature in the workplace
- Sabotage or undermining of an employee’s work performance in the workplace
Many states have introduced anti-bullying in the workplace legislation this year. We will have to wait and see if any other states actually succeed in enacting such legislation.
Compliance Poster Company’s HR Research and Compliance Team tracks state, federal and Canadian legislation and reports on noteworthy developments.