Tennessee Code 7-51-1501 – Rights guaranteed to local government employees
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 7-51-1501
- Metropolitan government: means the political entity created by consolidation of all, or substantially all, of the political and corporate functions of a county and a city or cities. See Tennessee Code 7-1-101
- 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
Notwithstanding any county, municipal, metropolitan, or other local governmental charter to the contrary, and notwithstanding any resolution or ordinance adopted by any such county, municipality or other local governmental unit to the contrary, every employee of every such local governmental unit shall enjoy the same rights of other citizens of Tennessee to be a candidate for any state or local political office, the right to participate in political activities by supporting or opposing political parties, political candidates, and petitions to governmental entities; provided, further, the city, county, municipal, metropolitan or other local government is not required to pay the employee’s salary for work not performed for the governmental entity; and provided, further, that unless otherwise authorized by law or local ordinance, an employee of a municipal government or of a metropolitan government shall not be qualified to run for elected office in the local governing body of such local governmental unit in which the employee is employed.