Employees, Employers

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary does not provide specific details on enforcement mechanisms or penalties for non-compliance.

Employment-Related Mental Health Evaluations

This bill requires employers to provide employees or job applicants with access to mental health evaluation results and allows them to sue if denied.

What This Bill Does

• Requires employers to grant reasonable access to the results of any required mental health evaluations for employment purposes.
• Allows such individuals to request their evaluation results during normal business hours.
• Enables employees or job applicants who are denied access to sue the employer in court and receive reasonable court costs and attorney fees if they win.

Who It Names or Affects

• Employers, including state government and local governments
• Employees and job seekers

Terms To Know

Employee

An individual who performs services for an employer in exchange for pay.

Employer

An individual or organization that hires one or more employees, including the state and its local governments.

Limits and Unknowns

• The bill does not specify what 'reasonable access' means in detail.
• It is unclear how this law will be enforced or if there are penalties for employers who do not comply.

Official Summary Text

This bill requires an
employer
, which includes this state and its political subdivisions,
that requires an employee or prospective employee to submit to a mental health evaluation as a condition of employment or prospective employment
to
grant
such person
reasonable access to the results of the evaluation, including any report from a mental health professional or other evaluator.
However, t
he employer may require that such access be during normal business hours.

This bill authorizes an
employee who is denied access to a mental health evaluation
as described above to
bring a private cause of action against the employer for declaratory or injunctive relief. A court
must
award to an employee who prevails in such action reasonable court costs and attorney fees.

Current Bill Text

HOUSE BILL 2016
By Cochran

SENATE BILL 2033
By Lowe
SB2033
011156
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 8 and
Title 50, relative to employment-related mental
health evaluations.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 50, Chapter 1, Part 3, is amended by
adding the following as a new section:
(a) As used in this section:
(1) "Employee" means an individual who performs services for an
employer for valuable consideration, and does not include a self-employed
independent contractor; and
(2) "Employer" means an individual or entity that employs one (1) or
more employees and includes this state and political subdivisions of this state.
(b) An employer that requires an employee or prospective employee to submit to
a mental health evaluation as a condition of employment or prospective employment
shall grant the employee or prospective employee reasonable access to the results of
the evaluation, including any report from a mental health professional or other evaluator.
The employer may require that such access be during normal business hours.
(c) An employee who is denied access to a mental health evaluation as provided
in subsection (b) may bring a private cause of action against the employer for
declaratory or injunctive relief. A court shall award to an employee who prevails in such
action reasonable court costs and attorney fees.
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.