Terms Used In Tennessee Code > Title 50 > Chapter 1 - Employment Relationship and Practices

• 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. See Tennessee Code 50-1-502
• Adverse action: means to discharge, threaten, or otherwise discriminate against an employee in any manner that affects the employee's employment, including compensation, terms, conditions, location, rights, immunities, promotions, or privileges. See Tennessee Code 50-1-1002
• Agency: means any department, commission, board, office or other agency of the executive, legislative or judicial branch of state government. See Tennessee Code 50-1-502
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Applicant: means an individual who has applied for employment with an employer. See Tennessee Code 50-1-1002
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Code: includes the Tennessee Code and all amendments and revisions to the code and all additions and supplements to the code. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of labor and workforce development, or the commissioner's designee. See Tennessee Code 50-1-702
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Court: means any court of competent jurisdiction of this state. See Tennessee Code 29-5-202
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the department of labor and workforce development, unless the context provides otherwise. See Tennessee Code 50-1-702
• Department of homeland security: means the United States department of homeland security, or the appropriate agency or division within such department, or any successor department, agency, or division thereto. See Tennessee Code 50-1-702
• E-Verify program: means the federal electronic work authorization verification service provided by the department of homeland security pursuant to the federal Basic Pilot Program Extension and Expansion Act of 2003, Pub. See Tennessee Code 50-1-702
• Economic development incentive: means any grant, loan or performance-based incentive from any governmental entity. See Tennessee Code 50-1-702
• Employee: means any individual for whom an employer must complete a Form I-9 pursuant to federal law and regulations, and does not include an independent contractor as defined by 8 U. See Tennessee Code 50-1-702
• Employee: means an employee of any county, metropolitan government, municipality, or other political subdivision of this state. See Tennessee Code 50-1-502
• Employer: means a person or entity that employs one (1) or more employees and includes the state and its political subdivisions and an agent, representative, or designee of the employer. See Tennessee Code 50-1-1002
• Employer: means a private employer and a state or local governmental entity. See Tennessee Code 50-1-502
• Employer: means any person, corporation or other entity that employs at least fifty (50) but not more than ninety-nine (99) full-time employees at a workplace located within this state, and that is not excluded or exempt from the requirements of the Employment Security Law, compiled in chapter 7 of this title. See Tennessee Code 50-1-601
• Employer: means private employers and governmental entities. See Tennessee Code 50-1-702
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Governmental entity: means this state or any political subdivision which exercises governmental powers under the laws of this state and uses tax revenues. See Tennessee Code 50-1-702
• 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. See Tennessee Code 50-1-502
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Internet access: means internet service that is installed and accessible at an employer's place of business. See Tennessee Code 50-1-702
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Lawsuit: A legal action started by a plaintiff against a defendant based on a complaint that the defendant failed to perform a legal duty, resulting in harm to the plaintiff.
• License: means any certificate, approval, registration, or similar form of permission issued by a local government with respect to business licensure as described in title 67, chapter 4. See Tennessee Code 50-1-702
• Nonemployee: means any individual, other than an employee, paid directly by the employer in exchange for the individual's labor or services. See Tennessee Code 50-1-702
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Person: means an individual, corporation, partnership, or other legal entity. See Tennessee Code 50-1-702
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Private employer: means any person who is required by federal law and regulations to report, for any purpose, remuneration paid to at least six (6) employees. See Tennessee Code 50-1-702
• private pension and retirement plan: means any plan not covered by the federal employee retirement income security program, the Tennessee consolidated retirement system, or any other governmentally regulated pension and retirement fund. See Tennessee Code 50-1-401
• Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Record: means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in a perceivable form. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Reduction in operations: means :
  (A) The closure of a workplace, or a portion of the operations in the workplace, whereby the number of employees working within the workplace is permanently or indefinitely reduced by fifty (50) or more during any three-month period. See Tennessee Code 50-1-601
• Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• 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
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. ^{Source: OCC}
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Workplace: means a factory, plant, office or other facility where employees produce goods or provide services. See Tennessee Code 50-1-601
• written: includes printing, typewriting, engraving, lithography, and any other mode of representing words and letters. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
• Year: means a calendar year, unless otherwise expressed. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105