Tennessee Supreme Court Rules on Employee Reporting of Misconduct

The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that an employee must report an employer’s wrongful activity to someone other than the wrongdoer in order to qualify as a whistleblower.

The court affirmed the dismissal of a whistleblower claim by Charles Haynes, a former employee of Formac Stables Inc. Haynes suffered an injury to the head when kicked by a Tennessee walking horse while working as a groom for Formac in 2010.

Haynes claimed that Formac’s owner refused to allow him to seek medical care and forced him to have a veterinarian seal the wound with horse sutures. Haynes alleged that during the three months following the incident he complained to the owner of severe headaches caused by the lack of proper medical care. In June of 2010, the owner terminated Haynes’ employment.

Haynes’ original suit claimed he was a “whistleblower” and that he had been unlawfully fired because of his refusal to remain silent about the illegal stitching procedure.

According to Supreme Court Justice Gary R. Wade who authored the March opinion, the plaintiff (Haynes) asserted that “to deny him whistleblower status would encourage managers and owners to claim that they participated in illegal activity as a means of avoiding liability for retaliatory discharge.”

Haynes also argued that disallowing internal reporting to an owner or manager responsible for illegal conduct will require employees to report to outside authorities, which will “deprive employers of the opportunity to take corrective action.”

The definition of whistleblower is someone who exposes alleged wrongdoing in an organization to someone inside or outside the organization. Whistleblowers, who are protected under Tennessee state law, may file lawsuits because reporting the activities may expose them to retaliation.

Formac countered that whistleblower protection is available only to employees who report illegal conduct in a manner that advances the public interest.

The Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal of the suit, ruling that an employee must report an employer’s wrongful activity to someone aside from the wrongdoer, either a higher authority in the company or to an appropriate law enforcement or regulatory agenccy, in order to qualify as a whistleblower.

Topics Legislation Tennessee