(a) Any person who is not an elected or appointed official or a member of a board, agency or commission shall not be considered an employee of a governmental entity for purposes of this chapter unless the court specifically finds that all of the following elements exist:

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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 29-20-107

  • Claim: means any claim brought against a governmental entity or its employee as permitted by this chapter. See Tennessee Code 29-20-102
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Employee: means and includes any official (whether elected or appointed), officer, employee or servant, or any member of any board, agency, or commission (whether compensated or not), or any officer, employee or servant thereof, of a governmental entity, including the sheriff and the sheriff's employees and, further including regular members of voluntary or auxiliary firefighting, police, or emergency assistance organizations. See Tennessee Code 29-20-102
  • Governmental entity: means any political subdivision of the state of Tennessee including, but not limited to, any municipality, metropolitan government, county, utility district, school district, nonprofit volunteer fire department receiving funds appropriated by a county legislative body or a legislative body of a municipality, human resource agency, community action agency or nonprofit corporation that administers the Head Start or Community Service Block Grant programs, public building authority, and development district created and existing pursuant to the constitution and laws of Tennessee, or any instrumentality of government created by any one (1) or more of the named local governmental entities or by an act of the general assembly. See Tennessee Code 29-20-102
  • Injury: means death, injury to a person, damage to or loss of property or any other injury that one may suffer to one's person, or estate, that would be actionable if inflicted by a private person or such person's agent. See Tennessee Code 29-20-102
  • Person: includes a corporation, firm, company or association. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
(1) The governmental entity itself selected and engaged the person in question to perform services;
(2) The governmental entity itself is liable for the payment of compensation for the performance of such services and the person receives all of such person’s compensation directly from the payroll department of the governmental entity in question;
(3) The person receives the same benefits as all other employees of the governmental entity in question including retirement benefits and the eligibility to participate in insurance programs;
(4) The person acts under the control and direction of the governmental entity not only as to the result to be accomplished but as to the means and details by which the result is accomplished; and
(5) The person is entitled to the same job protection system and rules, such as civil service or grievance procedures, as are other persons employed by the governmental entity in question.
(b) A governmental entity’s reservation of the right to approve employment or terminate employment by any contract, agreement or other means or such entity’s ability to control or direct a person not otherwise in the regular employ of such entity shall not operate to make a person an employee of such entity for the purpose of the immunity granted by this chapter unless such person otherwise qualifies as an employee according to this section.
(c) No governmental entity may extend the immunity granted by this chapter to independent contractors or other persons or entities by contract, agreement or other means, nor shall the doctrine of borrowed servants operate to make any person a governmental entity employee for the purpose of immunity who does not otherwise meet all of the elements set out in this section.
(d) A regular member of a voluntary or auxiliary firefighting, police or emergency assistance organization of a governmental entity shall be considered to be an employee of that governmental entity for purposes of this chapter without regard to the elements set forth in subsection (a).
(e) Persons who are employed in part-time, seasonal, or probationary positions by a governmental entity shall not be disqualified by subdivision (a)(3) or (a)(5) from the immunity granted by this chapter if they receive the same benefits or are subject to the same job protection system and rules as other persons employed by that government in comparable part-time, seasonal, or probationary positions.
(f) Agreements between governmental entities entered into pursuant to the Interlocal Cooperation Act, title 12, chapter 9, or as otherwise duly authorized by law, may confer or determine the status of an employee for purposes of this chapter on persons without regard to the elements set forth in subsection (a). Such agreements may provide, but are not, limited to, agreements that an employee of a governmental entity, including, but not limited to, police officers shall be assigned to another governmental entity to serve a particular purpose. The agreement may provide which of the governmental entities shall be liable for the acts of such person who shall continue to be considered as an employee for purposes of this chapter.
(g)

(1)

(A) Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, non-governmental independent contractors or other persons or entities that contract with or enter into any agreements with the regional transportation authority, as defined and created in title 64, chapter 8, for the provision of commuter rail transit services, facilities, or functions upon a rail line or rail line right-of-way owned and maintained by a governmental entity shall be granted limited tort exposure under this chapter. This grant of limited tort exposure shall be provided only when the non-governmental independent contractors or other persons or entities are providing by contract or agreement the rail transit services, facilities, or functions that title 64, chapter 8 authorizes the regional transportation authority to perform.
(B) In performing or providing such rail transit services, facilities, or functions, the non-governmental independent contractors or other persons or entities are deemed to be the functional equivalent of the regional transportation authority. They are performing or providing these rail transit services, facilities, or functions in the stead of the regional transportation authority and by such are fulfilling a public purpose that is authorized to be performed by the regional transportation authority. The regional transportation authority shall enter into such contracts or agreements because it has been determined by the board of the regional transportation authority to be more cost effective to contract or enter into an agreement for the rail transit services, facilities, or functions. When the regional transportation authority’s independent contractor or other person or entity that provides these rail transit services, facilities, or functions is deemed to be the functional equivalent of the regional transportation authority as provided for in this subsection (g), then the regional transportation authority’s contracting party or party to the agreement shall have limited tort exposure as long as the regional transportation authority’s contracting party or party to the agreement was performing rail transit services, facilities or functions within the scope of work and during the normal course of work of the contract or agreement when the accident occurred. The regional transportation authority’s contracting party or party to the agreement will not be afforded any limits to its tort exposure for gross negligence in the performance of the contract or agreement.
(C) For any rail transit accident, occurrence, or act, the limits of tort exposure for the regional transportation authority’s contracting party or party to the agreement shall be two million dollars ($2,000,000) for bodily injury or death of any one (1) person in any one (1) accident, occurrence or act, and thirty million dollars ($30,000,000) for bodily injury or death of all persons in any one (1) accident, occurrence, or act arising or that occurred during that time frame. No tort liability limits shall be granted to the non-governmental contractor or other persons or entities that contract with or enter into any agreement with the regional transportation authority for injury to or destruction of property in any accident, occurrence, or act. The regional transportation authority shall maintain, or cause to be maintained, a self insurance retention fund in a minimum amount of one million dollars ($1,000,000) up to an amount not to exceed two million dollars ($2,000,000), which shall be utilized as a first fund source for any payment of a tort claim arising from any rail transit accident, occurrence or act that results in bodily injury or death to one (1) or more persons.
(2) The limits of liability prescribed under subdivision (g)(1) shall not apply to any for-profit owners of rail lines or rail line rights-of-way. As a matter of public policy, the general assembly declares and deems the operation of the regional transportation authority’s commuter rail train to be a public purpose, a public and governmental function and a matter of public necessity.
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