In addition to the federal laws that protect employees' right to form or join a union, there are also civil rights laws that protect employees from discrimination and harassment in the workplace.
These laws make it illegal for employers to discriminate against employees on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetic information. They also protect employees from harassment on the basis of any of these protected characteristics.
Some of the most well-known civil rights laws are the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Equal Employment Opportunity Act of 1972, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
In addition, on June 27, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Janus v. AFSCME that non-union government workers could not be required to pay union fees as a condition of working in public service.
These laws apply to all employers in Tennessee, regardless of whether or not the state is a right-to-work state. This means that employers in Tennessee can be prosecuted for violating these laws, even if the state is a right-to-work state.