Opinion ID: 2829732
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: conclusion

Text: We respectfully decline to create an exception to the employment-at-will doctrine, and we therefore hold that a job applicant does not have a cause of action under the Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Act against a prospective employer for failure to hire if the prospective employer refused to hire the job applicant because that applicant had filed, or is likely to file, a workers’ compensation claim against a previous employer. We pretermit the second certified question based on our ruling on the first question. The Clerk is directed to transmit a copy of this opinion to the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee in accordance with Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 23, -7- section 8. Costs in this Court are taxed equally to Kighwaunda M. Yardley and Hospital Housekeeping Systems, LLC, and any surety, for which execution may issue if necessary. _________________________________