Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti on Wednesday sent a letter joined by 19 other state attorneys general commenting on the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) “Proposed Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace.” The letter claims that the proposal "threatens the First Amendment rights of millions of Americans," according to a press release from the AG's office. The EEOC has suggested new guidance that would broaden Title VII's prohibition of "sex-based harassment" to include “intentional and repeated use of a name or pronoun inconsistent with the individual’s gender identity (misgendering)” and “the denial of access to a bathroom or other sex-segregated facility consistent with the individual’s gender identity.” Read the letter.

Rep. Aftyn Behn, D-Nashville, says she plans to propose a law that would eliminate a tax on groceries and replace it with taxes on corporations. Tennessee's grocery tax holiday ended Oct. 31. WSMV reports that Behn says she is “calling on corporations to pay their fair share of taxes in order to abolish the grocery tax. I would challenge the Republicans across the aisle to join me in fighting to abolish it because it hurts their working-class families as well.” Tennessee is one of 13 states that has a tax on groceries.

The mother of Eric Allen, who died in a November 2022 encounter with Mt. Juliet police, has filed a lawsuit against the department, alleging that the officer who shot Allen used “unnecessary, unreasonable and excessive force” in violation of Allen’s constitutional rights. The Associated Press reports that the suit seeks $50 million, in addition to federal monitoring of Mt. Juliet Police Department’s use of force practices and procedures and changes to its patrol techniques.

The American Bar Association Section of State and Local Government Law will host a free webinar on firearms law on Nov. 8 at 12:30 p.m. EST. Experts from the Duke Center for Firearms Law will participate in a conversation about the legal issues surrounding gun policy, including what state and local officials are doing in the areas of policymaking, law enforcement and litigation to help lower the incidence of gun violence and mass shootings. Register here.

The Tennessee Supreme Court issued an order today amending Rule 17, which provides for a uniform judgment document to be used in all trial courts of record for convictions in all cases falling within the Tennessee Criminal Sentencing Reform Act of 1989. Due to recent statutory changes, the uniform judgment document requires revisions, and the court has adopted an amended and updated document, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2024. Read the order.

Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy on Tuesday announced that his office will no longer oppose requests for cost waivers of court fines and fees by low-income residents. Mulroy says that the financial impact of this policy is negligible and that “fines and fees have a disproportionate impact in our criminal justice system on low-income people and on minority communities, further exacerbating the already existing racial and wealth inequalities we have in the criminal justice system and society more generally.” The Daily Memphian reports that between August 2022 and August 2023, the Shelby County General Sessions Criminal Court processed 2,354 cost waivers.

Desmond Mills Jr., one of five former Memphis Police Department officers facing federal charges in the killing of Tyre Nichols, appeared before U.S. District Court Judge Mark S. Norris and pled guilty to civil rights and conspiracy charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office states in a press release. Mills pleaded guilty to counts one and three of the federal indictment, which dealt with the use of excessive force and conspiring to witness tamper; the other two counts were dismissed. The Daily Memphian reports that he also agreed to plead guilty to the state charges, which include second-degree murder, acting in concert of aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated kidnapping, two counts of official misconduct and one count of official oppression.

The November/December issue of the Tennessee Bar Journal is now available online and arriving in mailboxes soon! Our cover story is from Matt Sweeney and Mark Travis, breaking down what arbitration is — and what it isn't — and when to employ an arbitration clause in contract negotiations. Chuck Holliday explains how a small change in this year's updates to the Tennessee Rules of Civil Procedure could provide a boost to lawyers in their efficiency of serving opposing counsel, Wade Davies wraps up five Tennessee Supreme Court cases from this year and Russell Fowler connects Charles Dickens and Tennessee Gov. Andrew Johnson. If you're interested in running for TBA office in 2024, you can read about which positions are up for election. Learn what the Young Lawyers Division has been up to, enjoy a book review and more!

Learn more about the open positions for TBA's officers, governors and delegates in 2024.

A story in Friday's TBA Today misidentified the court to which Ashleigh Travis was recently sworn in, and the date on which the ceremony took place. Travis is now a circuit court judge in the 19th Judicial District and was sworn in on Oct. 6. Read the full press release from the Administrative Office of the Courts.