Rep. Hall and Sen. Duncan-Massey have introduced HB1223/SB1295 that "provides for an award of reasonable expenses, including attorneys' fees and disbursements, for claims brought under the Tennessee Wage Regulations Act in certain circumstances."

The "certain circumstances" are if a party is found to have acted "arbitrarily, vexatiously, or otherwise not in good faith."

The Wage Regulations Act "protects wage earners from unfair practices regarding pay. Also, this Act protects employees from sex discrimination in relation to wages and requires employers to pay each employee (regardless of their sex) the same wages for jobs requiring comparable skills."

As it is unlikely that an employer would bring a Wage Regulations action against an employee, it appears this is a message to workers to shut up and get back to work unless you want to risk being on the hook for large legal bills. I believe this is what they call a "chilling effect."