Rules & Regulations of the State of Tennessee
Title 1500 - Human Rights Commission
Chapter 1500-01-02 - Employment, Public Accommodation and Housing Complaints
Section 1500-01-02-.05 - GUIDELINES FOR ADVERTISEMENT

(1) It shall be a violation of Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4, Chapter 21, for any employer, labor organization, or employment agency to cause to be published, printed, circulated, or displayed any advertisement or notice relating to employment, employment opportunities, job openings, union membership, apprentice programs, job training programs, licensing opportunities, or any of the terms, conditions, or privileges thereof, which is segregated on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, or sex, or under any column heading which overtly, subtly, directly, or indirectly expresses any such limitation, specification, discrimination, or preference.

(2) It shall be a violation of Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4, Chapter 21, for an employer, labor organization, or employment agency to cause to be published, printed, circulated, or displayed any advertisement or notice relating to employment, employment opportunities, or any of the terms, conditions, or privileges thereof, the language of which expresses any limitation, specification, discrimination, or preference as to race, color, religion, national origin, or sex. A limitation, specification, discrimination, or preference as to religion, national origin or sex is not a violation where such limitation, specification, discrimination or preference is a "bona-fide occupational qualification" for the particular job advertised, as defined below in subparagraph (4).

(3) Whenever a "help wanted" advertisement or notice is to contain any job title or job description which is not clearly neutral in terms of sex, and the job advertised is not one for which sex is a bona-fide occupational "qualification" as defined in this regulation, the advertisement or notice should instead utilize a gender neutral job title.

(4) For the purpose of this regulation, "bona-fide occupational qualification" shall include only those vocational qualifications that are reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the particular business, enterprise, or apprentice or other training program. This exception shall be interpreted so that individuals will be considered for employment on the basis of their individual capacities, and not on the basis of any characteristic(s) generally attributable to their group. The employer, labor organization, or employment agency has the burden of establishing with the Tennessee Human Rights Commission that religion, national origin, or sex is a bona-fide occupational qualification.

(5) The application of the bona-fide occupational qualification exception is not warranted when based on assumptions of the comparative general employment characteristics of persons of a particular religion, national origin, or sex, such as their turnover rate; stereotypical characteristics of the aforementioned classes, such as their mechanical ability or aggressiveness; customer, client, coworker, or employer preference; historical usage, tradition, or custom; or the necessity of providing separate facilities of a personal nature, such as rest rooms or dressing rooms. The above list is provided for purposes of example, and is not exhaustive or all-inclusive.

(6) Newspapers and other publications which print employment advertisements are encouraged to maintain lists of discriminatory terms and permissible substitutes and to instruct their employees to advise employers, labor organizations, or employment agencies of these terms and to have copies of these regulations available for distribution to advertisers upon request.

(7) The use of language or any other word, term, phrase, or expression which tends to influence, persuade, dissuade, encourage, discourage, attract, or repel any person or persons because of their race, color, religion, national origin, or sex shall be considered a discriminatory practice in violation of Tennessee Code Annotated, Title 4, Chapter 21.

(8) Nothing contained in this regulation shall be deemed to prohibit the Commission from including in any of its orders against any respondent employer, labor organization, or employment agency a provision requiring such respondent to include in any advertisement or notice regarding any employment or licensing opportunity the term "equal opportunity," or any substantially similar term, in any notice or advertisement.