The Tennessee General Assembly passed a bill that eliminates the Tennessee Human Rights Commission (THRC), which has safeguarded civil rights across the state since 1963, and transfers its powers to the Attorney General’s office. With this move, Tennessee joins only a small handful of states that lack independent civil rights agencies.
The following is a statement from Feroza Freeland, Policy Director of A Better Balance’s Southern Office:
“Eliminating the TN Human Rights Commission leaves individuals and families vulnerable to discrimination and undermines the state’s ability to uphold civil rights laws. This is an attack on the rights and freedoms of all Tennesseans, including women, people of color, individuals with disabilities, religious groups, and others facing discrimination where they work, live, or shop.
Moving the Tennessee Human Rights Commission under the Attorney General’s office disrupts decades of precedent, eroding the Commission’s impartiality and efficiency. Unlike the State Attorney General’s office, whose priorities can be influenced by politics, the THRC had a legal obligation to operate independently. Replacing a fair and independent process with politically influenced decision-making not only undermines protections for workers and families facing discrimination, but may also expose Tennessee to additional costly legal challenges. In addition, because the bill unnecessarily rushes this major transition, over 1,000 Tennesseans who have already followed the correct process will have their existing discrimination claims dismissed, or will face the added burden of re-filing their claim with the Attorney General’s office within a very short timeframe. This legislation is antithetical to our Volunteer State values of being open and welcoming to all.”
