Amends TCA Title 4, Chapter 21, Part 4.

Generally, the Tennessee Human Rights Act prohibits various forms of discrimination in employment, public accommodations, and housing. A violation of the Act subjects the violator to various forms of administrative action, such as: hiring, reinstatement or upgrading of employees with or without back pay; payment to the complainant of damages for an injury, including humiliation and embarrassment; posting notices; and other remedies. Additionally, any person injured by any act in violation of the Act may sue for injunctive relief and actual damages.<br /> <br /> One form of discriminatory act in employment under the Act is for an employer to discharge any person because of such individual's race, creed, color, religion, sex, age or national origin.<br /> <br /> This bill specifies that, for purposes identifying a discriminatory act in employment under the Act, an employer discharges an employee when the employer places an employee on involuntary unpaid leave or unpaid leave of absence from employment without a reasonable and publicly announced expectation of return to fully compensated employment status within a reasonable time.<br /> <br /> This bill also specifies that, for the purposes of identifying a discriminatory act in employment under the Act, an employer's action of placing an employee on involuntary unpaid leave or unpaid leave of absence from employment is not a reasonable accommodation to an employee's request, for religious or medical reasons, to be exempt from a requirement to obtain vaccination or immunization for COVID-19.<br />