(a) A person commits the offense of involuntary labor servitude who knowingly subjects, or attempts to subject, another person to forced labor or services by:

Attorney's Note

Under the Tennessee Code, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
class A felony15 to 60 yearsup to $50,000
class B felony8 to 30 yearsup to $25,000
class C felony3 to 15 yearsup to $10,000
For details, see Tenn. Code § 40-35-111
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 39-13-307

  • Blackmail: means threatening to expose or reveal the identity of another or any material, document, secret or other information that might subject a person to hatred, contempt, ridicule, loss of employment, social status or economic harm. See Tennessee Code 39-13-301
  • Bodily injury: includes a cut, abrasion, bruise, burn or disfigurement, and physical pain or temporary illness or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Defendant: means a person accused of an offense under this title and includes any person who aids or abets the commission of such offense. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Financial harm: includes extortion as defined by §. See Tennessee Code 39-13-301
  • Forced labor or services: means labor or services that are performed or provided by another person and are obtained or maintained through the defendant's:
    (A) Causing or threatening to cause serious harm to any person. See Tennessee Code 39-13-301
  • Government: means the state or any political subdivision of the state, and includes any branch or agency of the state, a county, municipality or other political subdivision. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Harm: means anything reasonably regarded as loss, disadvantage or injury, including harm to another person in whose welfare the person affected is interested. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Involuntary servitude: means the condition of a person who is compelled by force, coercion or imprisonment and against the person's will to labor for another, whether paid or not. See Tennessee Code 39-13-301
  • Labor: means work of economic or financial value. See Tennessee Code 39-13-301
  • Person: includes the singular and the plural and means and includes any individual, firm, partnership, copartnership, association, corporation, governmental subdivision or agency, or other organization or other legal entity, or any agent or servant thereof. See Tennessee Code 39-11-106
  • Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
  • Services: means an ongoing relationship between a person and the defendant in which the person performs activities under the supervision of or for the defendant. See Tennessee Code 39-13-301
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
  • Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(1) Causing or threatening to cause serious bodily harm to the person;
(2) Physically restraining or threatening to physically restrain the person;
(3) Abusing or threatening to abuse the law or legal process;
(4) Knowingly destroying, concealing, removing, confiscating or possessing any actual or purported passport or other immigration document, or any other actual or purported government identification document, of the person;
(5) Using blackmail or using or threatening to cause financial harm for the purpose of exercising financial control over the person;
(6) Facilitating or controlling the person’s access to an addictive controlled substance; or
(7) Controlling the person’s movements through threats or violence.
(b) In addition to any other amount of loss identified or any other punishment imposed, the court shall order restitution to the victim or victims in an amount equal to the greater of:

(1) The gross income or value to the defendant of the victim’s labor or services; or
(2) The value of the victim’s labor as guaranteed under the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.), or the minimum wage required in this state, whichever is higher.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting the defendant from also being prosecuted for the theft of the victim’s labor or services by involuntary servitude or for any other appropriate criminal statute violated by the defendant’s conduct.
(d)

(1) Involuntary servitude is a Class C felony.
(2) Involuntary servitude is a Class B felony if:

(A) The violation resulted in the serious bodily injury or death of a victim;
(B) The period of time during which the victim was held in servitude exceeded one (1) year; or
(C) The defendant held ten (10) or more victims in servitude at any time during the course of the defendant’s criminal episode.
(3) Involuntary servitude is a Class A felony if the victim was more than twelve (12) years of age but less than eighteen (18) years of age.
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