Harman v. Univ. of Tenn
Annotate this CaseEmployee, hired as a university professor and department head, filed suit against Employer after Employee was removed as department head, alleging a violation of the Tennessee Public Protection Act (TPPA), commonly termed the Whistleblower Statute. Employer filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings, asserting that Employee failed to state a claim for relief under the TPPA. The trial court granted the motion and dismissed the TPPA claim, ruling that, assuming the facts of the complaint to be true, Employee was neither discharged from his employment nor did he refuse to participate in or remain silent about any alleged illegal activities. The court of appeals affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed the trial court's dismissal of Employee's complaint, holding that because Employee was neither terminated nor discharged from his employment, only removed as department head, the complaint did not allege facts from which the Court could reasonably infer a claim under the TPPA.
Court Description: The issue presented in this case is whether the employee s complaint states a cause of action for relief under the Tennessee Public Protection Act. The employee, hired as a university professor and department head, filed suit against the university after he was removed as department head. On motion of the university, the trial court concluded that the complaint failed to allege that the employee was discharged or terminated or that he was discharged or terminated for refusing to participate in or for refusing to remain silent about illegal activities and dismissed the complaint pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 12.03. A cause of action arises under the Act when an employer discharges or terminates the employee for refusing to participate in or for refusing to remain silent about illegal activities. We determine that because the employee was neither terminated nor discharged from his employment, only removed as department head, the complaint does not allege facts from which we can reasonably infer a claim under the Tennessee Public Protection Act. Therefore, we affirm the trial court s Tennessee Rule of Civil Procedure 12.03 dismissal of the employee s complaint.
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