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Tennessee Employee and Severance NDA

Draft a Tennessee employee or severance NDA that follows Section 50-1-108, which bars requiring an onboarding NDA over workplace sexual harassment.

Introduction

A Tennessee employee NDA is a confidentiality agreement between a company and a worker that protects the employer's trade secrets and confidential business information. A severance NDA is the version signed at separation, usually inside a release of claims, and it often keeps the terms of the exit private. What separates it from a commercial NDA between two businesses is who signs it: a worker cannot be forced to stay silent about unlawful conduct. In Tennessee, Tennessee Code Annotated Section 50-1-108 provides that an employer shall not require an employee or prospective employee to execute or renew a nondisclosure agreement about workplace sexual harassment as a condition of employment. It is aimed at the onboarding NDA and covers sexual harassment specifically, narrower than states that also reach discrimination and retaliation. DocDraft drafts a Tennessee employee or severance NDA from your facts, with that protected-disclosure carve-out built in, and attorney review is available before anyone signs.

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Key Things to Know

  1. 1

    Section 50-1-108 targets the onboarding NDA. An employer cannot require an employee or prospective employee to sign or renew a nondisclosure agreement about workplace sexual harassment as a condition of employment.

  2. 2

    The scope is sexual harassment. Tennessee's restriction is limited to workplace sexual harassment, narrower than states that also cover discrimination and retaliation.

  3. 3

    It does not reach severance settlements. Because the statute speaks to a condition of employment, a post-employment severance or settlement release may still include agreed confidentiality about a resolved dispute.

  4. 4

    No specific carve-out wording is mandated. Section 50-1-108 bars the required onboarding NDA rather than dictating an exact sentence, but a clear carve-out keeps the agreement clean.

  5. 5

    The prohibition is on requiring it. The law targets making such an NDA a condition of employment, so the fix is to leave workplace sexual harassment out of any mandatory onboarding confidentiality term.

  6. 6

    Trade secrets stay protectable. The law limits forced silence on sexual harassment, not the protection of legitimate trade secrets and confidential business information.

  7. 7

    The federal floor still applies. The Speak Out Act, the Defend Trade Secrets Act immunity notice, and non-waivable EEOC, NLRB, and SEC reporting rights all apply on top of Tennessee law.

Key decisions before you file

Before you file a Employee and Severance NDA in Tennessee, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Employee and Severance NDA guide walks through them.

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Tennessee Requirements for Employee and Severance NDA

  • Tennessee Code Annotated Section 50-1-108

    Draft a Tennessee employee or severance NDA that follows Section 50-1-108, which bars requiring an onboarding NDA over workplace sexual harassment.

Frequently Asked Questions