# Tennessee — State employment law headcount triggers that deviate from federal thresholds

For Tennessee, law category is workers compensation; state threshold is 5 or more; key differences is Owners must also cover themselves unless they request an exemption. (Construction and coal mining have stricter rules.); coverage / scope is Includes all employees, recorded from its source on 2026-08-14.

- **State:** Tennessee _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Law category:** workers compensation _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **State threshold:** 5 or more _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Key differences:** Owners must also cover themselves unless they request an exemption. (Construction and coal mining have stricter rules.) _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Coverage / scope:** Includes all employees. _(verified: appears in the quote below)_

## What the source says

> Tennessee | 5 or more | Includes all employees. | Owners must also cover themselves unless they request an exemption. (Construction and coal mining have stricter rules.)

## Source

- https://www.workcompone.com/blog/minimum-number-of-employees-for-workers-comp-in-every-u-s-state/

Last verified: 2026-08-14. Review by: 2027-02-10.
Part of [State employment law headcount triggers that deviate from federal thresholds](https://referencesource.org/state-employment-law-headcount-triggers/).