COVID-19 Legal Update: Tennessee

Workers' Compensation Administrative board/ commission

How does the state define an occupational disease?

50-6-301 occupational diseases means all diseases arising out of and in the course of employment. A disease shall be deemed to arise out of the employment only if:
(1) It can be determined to have followed as a natural incident of the work as a result of the exposure occasioned by the nature of the employment;
(2) It can be fairly traced to the employment as a proximate cause;
(3) It has not originated from a hazard to which workers would have been equally exposed outside of the employment;
(4) It is incidental to the character of the employment and not independent of the relation of employer and employee;
(5) It originated from a risk connected with the employment and flowed from that source as a natural consequence, though it need not have been foreseen or expected prior to its contraction; and
(6) There is a direct causal connection between the conditions under which the work is performed and the occupational disease. Diseases of the heart, lung, and hypertension arising out of and in the course of any type of employment shall be deemed to be occupational diseases.

COVid-19 Specific Laws, agency declarations/ press releases, or enacted regulation?

BWC Announcement on Telephonic Hearings
March 19, 2020

Commissioner's COVID-19 Guidance to Carriers
March 24, 2020

Gov. Lee Issues Guidance on Return-to-Work
April 24, 2020

Executive Order on Re-opening Restaurants
April 24, 2020

Executive Order Suspending Certain Statutes and Rules to Facilitate the Treatment and Containment of COVID-19
May 1, 2020

Executive Order Expanding the Number of Tenneeseans Who Can RTW
May 22, 2020

Launch Tennessee - Resource for Businesses on COVID-19 Updates & Resources

Court Closures & Modified Call

BWC Operations Update

Is the administrative court system closed or open?

Open.

Does this state have a shelter-in-place in order?

No - order was 3/31/20 to 4/30/20; phased re-opening began 5/1/20.

ANY STATE-SPECIFIC GUIDANCE ON DISABILITY, UNEMPLOYMENT, OR HEALTH BENEFITS FOR COVID-19?

Unemployment.

Last Updated: 2/1/2021

<< Gallagher Bassett COVID-19 Resource Center
<< Contact us with your COVID-19 Questions

This document compiles certain state laws and websites relevant to the COVID-19 pandemic. State guidance and other government instruction have changed frequently. We thus may update this document over time.

Please do not hesitate to contact your account manager, resolution manager, or your other preferred contact at Gallagher Bassett with any questions.

Although we have gathered information relevant to COVID-19 and its impact on workers' compensation claims and your businesses, this is not legal advice, it does not include all pertinent information, nor should it be the basis for legal, claim, benefit, safety, or human resource-related decisions. If you would like guidance on legal issues arising from COVID-19, including whether a COVID-19 related claim is compensable under a specific state’s laws, please seek advice from legal counsel with expertise in the relevant subject areas and state laws. For Gallagher Bassett clients, if you have reported a workers’ compensation claim, then your resolution manager can assist.

A Further Note on the Statutes, Definitions, Cases, and Websites Cited in this Document. State law controls if a worker is entitled or not entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. Each state can approach this question differently, and the relevant statutes, standards of proof, regulating agencies, court precedent, and other aspects of a workers’ compensation claim vary between jurisdictions. As a general principle, state workers’ compensation laws provide medical and wage loss benefits to workers who suffer bodily injury due to an accident, or bodily injury due to an occupational disease. The relevant bodily injury must arise out of and occur in the course of employment. This document primarily compiles state definitions of “occupational disease.” With respect to diseases for which the employee may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, the disease typically must arise from particular conditions of employment that make contracting the disease more likely than in the general population, or otherwise there must be a sufficient connection between a disease and workplace. Please consult the relevant state’s workers’ compensation act for the specific language applicable to an “occupational disease” claim.