{"data":{"id":"us-tn/tenn.-code-ann.-50-1-502","jurisdiction":"us-tn","citation":"Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-1-502","heading":"Part definitions","body":"As used in this part: (1) \"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 an employee was subject to an abusive work environment, such as: (A) Repeated verbal abuse in the workplace, including derogatory remarks, insults, and epithets; (B) Verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct of a threatening, intimidating, or humiliating nature in the workplace; or (C) The sabotage or undermining of an employee's work performance in the workplace; (2) \"Agency\" means any department, commission, board, office or other agency of the executive, legislative or judicial branch of state government; (3) \"Employee\" means an employee of any county, metropolitan government, municipality, or other political subdivision of this state; (4) \"Employer\" means a private employer and a state or local governmental entity; (5) \"Harassment\" means two (2) or more instances of contact serving no legitimate purpose directed at an employee, in connection with that person's status as an employee, that a reasonable person would consider alarming, threatening, intimidating, abusive, or emotionally distressing and that does or reasonably could interfere with the performance of the employee's duties; and (6) \"Instance of contact\" means a direct communication or physical touching. Amended by 2019 Tenn. Acts, ch. 331,s 1, eff. 5/10/2019. Amended by 2019 Tenn. Acts, ch. 214,s 1, eff. 4/23/2019. Added by 2014 Tenn. Acts, ch. 997,s 1, eff. 5/22/2014.\nAs used in this part:\n(1) \"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 an employee was subject to an abusive work environment, such as: (A) Repeated verbal abuse in the workplace, including derogatory remarks, insults, and epithets; (B) Verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct of a threatening, intimidating, or humiliating nature in the workplace; or (C) The sabotage or undermining of an employee's work performance in the workplace;\n(A) Repeated verbal abuse in the workplace, including derogatory remarks, insults, and epithets;\n(B) Verbal, nonverbal, or physical conduct of a threatening, intimidating, or humiliating nature in the workplace; or\n(C) The sabotage or undermining of an employee's work performance in the workplace;\n(2) \"Agency\" means any department, commission, board, office or other agency of the executive, legislative or judicial branch of state government;\n(3) \"Employee\" means an employee of any county, metropolitan government, municipality, or other political subdivision of this state;\n(4) \"Employer\" means a private employer and a state or local governmental entity;\n(5) \"Harassment\" means two (2) or more instances of contact serving no legitimate purpose directed at an employee, in connection with that person's status as an employee, that a reasonable person would consider alarming, threatening, intimidating, abusive, or emotionally distressing and that does or reasonably could interfere with the performance of the employee's duties; and\n(6) \"Instance of contact\" means a direct communication or physical touching.","path":["TN Code","Title 50","Chapter 1"],"source_url":"https://oss-data-us.vaquill.ai/v2026.08/us_tn_statutes.parquet","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:26Z","sha256":"eee78b73638e9daa1753acc5cf1f92605be0f57485812708b475b1ced30040b0","source_id":"us-tn","stale":false,"prev":"us-tn/tenn.-code-ann.-50-1-501","next":"us-tn/tenn.-code-ann.-50-1-503"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}