Tennessee — Workplace Safety

The Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA) enforces workplace safety rules for employees who are physically working within the state of Tennessee. TOSHA's state plan, approved by federal OSHA, covers most private and public sector workplaces in Tennessee, but its jurisdiction is fundamentally territorial: TOSHA applies only to worksites, employees, and hazards located inside Tennessee’s borders.

Multi-state employers: If a Tennessee-based employer operates workplaces in multiple states, only Tennessee worksites and employees physically present in Tennessee are subject to TOSHA regulations. Worksites or employees in other states fall under the occupational safety jurisdiction of the state in which they are located (if that state has an OSHA-approved State Plan), or under federal OSHA if not.

Remote and teleworking employees: Employees who live and work remotely in another state, even if their employer is headquartered in Tennessee, are not covered by TOSHA when performing work physically outside Tennessee. Instead, the occupational safety and health authority of the state where the remote work actually takes place (or federal OSHA if no state plan exists) will apply. TOSHA’s jurisdiction does not reach across state lines to cover home offices, telework sites, or other work locations outside Tennessee’s geographic boundaries.

This territorial rule is confirmed by OSHA’s description of State Plan jurisdiction, which is limited to “private sector workplaces located within the state” and “state and local government employers” operating physically inside the state’s borders. If TOSHA cannot lawfully exercise jurisdiction “for reasons not related to the required performance or structure of the plan,” then federal OSHA steps in—but only within Tennessee. There is no state plan (or TOSHA) jurisdiction over out-of-state locations for remote employees working outside Tennessee.

Practical upshot: For a multi-state employer, different safety laws may apply to each location depending on where employees work, not just where the company is headquartered.

Source: OSHA — Tennessee State Plan; Tenn. Code Ann. Title 50, Ch. 3

Tennessee requires most employers to maintain records of workplace injuries and illnesses under Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0800-01-03, which incorporates the federal OSHA recordkeeping obligations by reference (see Rule 0800-01-03-.03(1)). Employers must use the OSHA 300 Log, 300A Annual Summary, and OSHA 301 Incident Report for recordkeeping, with TOSHA-specific requirements for exemptions, posting, and access.

Partial exemption for small employers

Employers with 10 or fewer employees at any time during the preceding calendar year are partially exempt from maintaining injury and illness records unless specifically notified in writing by TOSHA or the Bureau of Labor Statistics (Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0800-01-03-.02(2)). The count is based on the employer's peak employment across all establishments, not per establishment.

Partial exemption for certain industries

Certain industries, as enumerated by NAICS codes in Appendix A of Rule 0800-01-03-.02, are exempt from routine recordkeeping unless notified in writing. This exemption is establishment-based (not company-wide) (Rule 0800-01-03-.02(3)-(4)).

Reporting of Serious Incidents

Even if an employer is otherwise exempt from routine recordkeeping, all employers must report to TOSHA any work-related fatality within 8 hours, and any in-patient hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye within 24 hours. These timeframes are mandated by Rule 0800-01-03-.05(1)(a). Reports can be made to the nearest TOSHA office by telephone or in person, by the TOSHA toll-free central telephone number, or by other means prescribed by TOSHA.

Covered employees

Under Rule 0800-01-03-.04(2), all employees whose injuries or illnesses are recordable must be included, whether payroll, non-payroll (supervised on a day-to-day basis by the employer, such as temporary workers), hourly, salary, part-time, or seasonal. Owners/partners in sole proprietorships/partnerships are not considered employees for these purposes.

General recording criteria

Tennessee applies the federal recording criteria, adopting 29 C.F.R. § 1904 by reference (see Rule 0800-01-03-.03(1)): a recordable case is one that results in death, days away from work, restricted work, job transfer, medical treatment beyond first aid, loss of consciousness, or significant injury/illness diagnosed by a licensed healthcare professional.

Retention, posting, and employee access

Employers must retain the OSHA 300 Log, 300A Annual Summary, privacy case list, and OSHA 301 forms for 5 years following the calendar year (Rule 0800-01-03-.04(4)(a)). The 300A Summary must be completed after the end of the calendar year and posted from February 1 through April 30 of the following year in a conspicuous location where notices are customarily displayed and accessible to all employees, former employees, and their representatives (Rule 0800-01-03-.04(4)(c)).

Employees, their representatives, and former employees have the right to access records within prescribed timelines (Rule 0800-01-03-.04(5)). Employers must also inform employees of their reporting procedure.

Multiple establishments

Each establishment expected to operate for a year or longer must keep its own OSHA 300 Log; short-duration establishments may be consolidated (Rule 0800-01-03-.04(3)-(4)). Centralized company recordkeeping is permitted if information can be transmitted from establishment to headquarters within the mandated timeframe.

Source: Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0800-01-03

Tennessee requires most private-sector employers meeting the federal-size or industry thresholds to electronically submit OSHA Form 300A annual summary data. The Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA) adopts the federal recordkeeping and electronic reporting regulations by direct reference (Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0800-01-03-.03(1)), meaning all process, deadlines, and technical mechanics defer to OSHA’s Injury Tracking Application (ITA).

State-specific instructions Tennessee does not have its own electronic submission portal for OSHA 300A data. Employers must use the federal OSHA ITA system. There are no Tennessee-specific forms, notifications, or documentation requirements beyond the federal OSHA requirements in 29 C.F.R. § 1904.41. Tennessee’s rule incorporates federal updates by reference and states that electronic submission must be made to OSHA or its designee, in practice the federal ITA portal.

Who must submit electronically?

• Establishments with 250 or more employees required to keep OSHA records.
• Establishments with 20–249 employees in high-risk NAICS-coded industries defined federally.
• The annual deadline is March 2 for prior year data.
• Employers may also be required to submit data upon written notice from TOSHA, even if otherwise exempt.

Public sector & exemptions: Public employers (state/local government) are generally not required to submit electronically unless specifically notified by TOSHA, in parallel with federal rules. Partial exemptions for small and low-risk industry employers also match federal guidance.

Tennessee imposes no additional steps, forms, deadlines, or requirements beyond what is established by federal OSHA. Employers should monitor for TOSHA notifications, as these can override general exemptions.

Source: Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0800-01-03; 29 C.F.R. § 1904.41

Tennessee law provides explicit protection for employees against retaliation when they report workplace injuries or illnesses, file complaints, or exercise other rights under the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Act (TOSH Act). Under Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-3-409(a), it is unlawful for an employer to discharge or "in any manner discriminate" against an employee because the employee has: (1) filed a complaint or caused one to be filed under the TOSH Act, (2) instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under or related to the Act, (3) testified or is about to testify in such a proceeding, or (4) exercised any right afforded by the Act.

What protections are actually stated? The statute explicitly prohibits discharge and any form of discrimination linked to an employee’s exercise of TOSH Act rights. While "discriminate" is not further defined in the statute, courts and agencies commonly interpret this to protect against adverse employment actions directly tied to protected activities. Regulatory language at Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0800-01-03-.04(7) restates that employee reports of work-related injuries, illnesses, or safety concerns are covered by these protections.

Filing a retaliation complaint — procedure and deadlines:

• An employee must file a complaint alleging retaliation with the Tennessee Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development within 30 days after the alleged violation occurs (Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-3-409(b)(1)). The statute does not require a specific form; it simply requires timely notice to the Commissioner.
• The Commissioner will investigate the complaint, and if there is reasonable cause to believe a violation occurred, may bring a civil action in chancery court for "all appropriate relief including rehiring or reinstatement and back pay" (Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-3-409(b)(2)).
• The Commissioner is required to notify the complainant in writing of the determination within 90 days of the complaint being filed (Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-3-409(b)(3)).

Key practical point: Employees who believe they suffered retaliation for TOSHA-protected activity must act quickly—within 30 days—to preserve their rights. The law covers core workplace safety activities, most directly reporting and participating in proceedings about hazards, injuries, or illnesses.

Source: Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-3-409; Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0800-01-03-.04