Tennessee Private Employer Veterans Preference

Section 50-1-107 lets a private employer in Tennessee give a hiring preference to veterans and to certain spouses, and states that the preferences it authorizes are not considered violations of any state or local equal employment opportunity law. That sentence is the whole point of the statute. An employer that prefers veterans is, in form, treating applicants differently based on a characteristic, and employers worried about discrimination exposure have historically hesitated. This section removes the state and local law objection. Four groups can be preferred: an honorably discharged veteran; the spouse of a veteran with a service-connected disability; the unremarried surviving spouse of a veteran who died from a service-connected disability; and the unremarried surviving spouse of a member of the armed forces who died in the line of duty. Two conditions attach. The policy has to be in writing, and the employer may require submission of a DD Form 214 as proof of eligibility. What the section does not do is create any right a veteran can enforce. It says in terms that nothing in it requires a private employer to provide a preference in hiring to any of the persons listed. A veteran cannot sue an employer for failing to prefer them, and cannot sue an employer that has a policy for failing to follow it, at least not under this section. The right it creates belongs to the employer. The federal shield is not addressed. The section speaks to state and local equal employment opportunity law; it cannot and does not immunise an employer against a federal claim. The federal position is generally that a veterans preference policy is permissible, but an employer relying on this section should not read it as covering Title VII. For a veteran the practical use is in asking. Employers with a written policy under this section are usually willing to say so, and the existence of one tells a veteran their DD214 is worth attaching to the application rather than holding back.