Tennessee — Leave Laws

Tennessee does not require private employers to provide paid family or medical leave. According to the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, there is no state law that regulates fringe benefits, including paid vacation, sick pay, or paid time off—these benefits are governed solely by company policy. No Tennessee statute creates a statewide mandate for paid family or medical leave in the private sector.

This leaves the provision of paid leave up to the employer's discretion, and private-sector employees in Tennessee do not have a statutory right to paid sick leave, paid parental leave, or similar paid leave benefits under state law.

Source: Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development — Fringe Benefits FAQ

Tennessee requires most private employers with five or more regular employees to provide paid leave for jury service, but the law contains two independent exceptions that exempt some employees from this right:

1. Small employer exemption: An employer with fewer than five (5) regular employees is not required to provide paid jury leave.

2. Recent/temporary employee exemption: An employee who "has been employed by an employer on a temporary basis for less than six (6) months" is not entitled to paid jury leave, regardless of the employer’s size. This means an employee need not satisfy both "more than temporary" and "six months" criteria—either being temporary for under six months or not yet having reached six months of employment is sufficient to exempt the employee from paid jury leave protection.

Other requirements:

• The employee must exhibit the jury summons to their supervisor on the next workday after receipt.
• Employers must excuse eligible employees from work and pay usual compensation for time actually spent serving on a jury and traveling to and from court, where jury service exceeds three hours in a day.
• Employers may deduct the fee or compensation the employee receives from the state for jury service.
• Employees may not be discharged, demoted, or suspended for taking jury leave provided they give required notice.

These exceptions are stated as separate prongs in the statute and do not need to be satisfied together for an employee to fall outside the scope of Tennessee’s paid jury duty leave protections.

Source: Tenn. Code Ann. § 22-4-106, Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts — Jury Service FAQ

Tennessee law entitles employees to take time off from work to vote in elections held in the state, with statutory protection against pay reduction or penalty for the absence. Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-1-106 provides that any person entitled to vote in an election held in Tennessee may be absent from work on election day for a reasonable period of time, not to exceed three hours, to vote during the time the polls are open in the county where the employee resides.

Eligibility threshold based on work schedule. An employee is entitled to voting leave only if the employee's work schedule does not already provide sufficient non-working time to vote. Specifically, if the employee's tour of duty begins three or more hours after the opening of the polls or ends three or more hours before the closing of the polls in the county where the employee is a resident, the employee may not take time off under the statute. The three-hour window is measured between either the poll opening and the start of the shift, or the end of the shift and the poll closing.

Advance notice requirement. An employee must apply for voting leave before 12:00 noon on the day before the election. The statute requires the employee to request the absence from the employer by that deadline.

Employer control over timing. The employer may specify the hours during which the employee may be absent. Tennessee employers retain discretion to designate whether the employee takes voting leave at the beginning, middle, or end of the work shift, subject to the three-hour maximum.

No pay reduction or penalty. A voter who is absent from work to vote in compliance with the statute may not be subjected to any penalty or reduction in pay for the absence. The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development further notes that Tennessee employees may not be disciplined or discharged for voting in elections, treating voting leave as an exception to the state's at-will employment doctrine.

The statute applies to elections held in Tennessee. Poll closing times vary by county in Tennessee; each county determines its poll hours at least 15 days prior to the election.

Source: Tenn. Dep't of Labor & Workforce Dev. — Employee Rights (citing Tenn. Code Ann. § 2-1-106)

Tennessee’s Parental Leave Act (Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-21-408) requires employers with 100 or more full-time employees at the same job site to provide up to four months of unpaid leave to qualifying employees for specific family-related reasons.

Covered employers and eligible employees: The statute applies to private and public employers with at least 100 full-time employees at one job site. Any full-time employee who has worked for the employer for at least 12 consecutive months (undefined in the statute—practitioners should note the lack of further definition for "full-time" or "12 months") is eligible.

Qualifying reasons and duration:

• A female employee is entitled to up to four months of leave for pregnancy, childbirth, and nursing an infant.
• Any employee who adopts a child (except the spouse of the adopting parent, if the child is the natural child of the spouse) is likewise entitled to up to four months of leave for adoption-related reasons.
• The duration is defined by the employee's usual work schedule over a four-month period.

Notice requirements: To qualify, the employee must give at least three months’ advance notice of their intent to take leave, including the start and end dates. Notice is excused only if the employee cannot provide it due to a medical emergency or other unforeseen circumstances.

Job protection and restoration: Employers are prohibited from discharging or terminating an employee solely because they exercise their rights under this statute. On return, the employee must be restored to their previous position or to a comparable position if available, with the same pay, benefits, and terms of employment.

Relationship to the FMLA: The Parental Leave Act does not reduce any rights granted under federal law, including the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The statute is silent on whether leaves may or must run concurrently—employers should read both statutes and consult current federal guidance if both laws may apply.

Source: Tenn. Code Ann. § 4-21-408