Controversial Tennessee law bans certain vaccine protocols

After days of intense discussions and multiple amendments, in the wee hours of Saturday, October 30, 2021, the Tennessee Legislature passed House Bill 9077/Senate Bill 9014. The new law will have a significant impact on Tennessee employers with respect to various COVID-19 pandemic protocols.

Governor Bill Lee recently signed the measure, which went into effect immediately. Some or all of its aspects may be subject to judicial challenges. We're still reviewing the law, and many questions remain unanswered, including how it will interact with possibly conflicting federal vaccine mandates.

Vaccines

The new Tennessee law appears to at least partially prohibit the enactment of so-called “vaccine passport” laws, stating a “governmental entity” may not “mandate that a . . . person receive a COVID-19 vaccine” or that a private business require proof of vaccination as a condition to enter its premises or receive its products or services.

The law also appears to prohibit workforce vaccine mandates by both private and public employers in Tennessee, stating they “shall not compel or otherwise take adverse action against a person to compel the person to provide proof of vaccination if the person objects to receiving a COVID-19 vaccine for any reason.” The law defines “adverse action” to include discrimination by: