Under a state law found at T.C.A. § 8-50-107, county employers can require all new employees hired after a certain date to be residents of the county, but counties cannot dismiss or penalize current employees solely on the basis of non-residence in the county.^[1]   Because county government is the servant of the area lying within its jurisdiction, a county may want to adopt a requirement that employees reside within the county. A residency requirement could be viewed as a method of providing job opportunities to residents who pay taxes in a particular county. A county employer that desires to enact a residency requirement should make it effective for all employees hired after the creation of the policy. In order to avoid requirements that could impact some group or class of people in a discriminatory way, new employees should be given time to comply with the residency provisions if they do not already live in the designated area..^[2]

First Responders. Counties are prohibited from denying employment, dismissing, disciplining, fining, or penalizing a first responder based on where the first responder resides. First responders include paid, full-time law enforcement officers, firefighters, emergency medical personnel, and dispatchers of law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical service departments, but do not include the chief or head of department. This law does not apply in Hamilton County. T.C.A. § 8-50-107(d).