Appointment of Judges on the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board
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The governor, in consultation with the speaker of the house of representatives and the speaker of the senate, shall appoint three (3) qualified individuals to serve as judges on the workers' compensation appeals board. Each individual selected shall be a Tennessee licensed attorney, with at least seven (7) years' experience in workers' compensation matters, shall be at least thirty (30) years of age, and shall be required to attend annual training on workers' compensation laws.
Upon appointment, each judge of the workers' compensation appeals board shall serve a term of six (6) years and may be reappointed for an additional term by the governor upon expiration of the initial term. No judge appointed to the workers' compensation appeals board shall serve more than two (2) full terms, and service of more than half of a six (6) year term shall constitute service of one (1) full term. Any judge appointed to the workers' compensation appeals board to serve less than a full term to fill a vacancy created by the removal or resignation of a judge sitting on the workers' compensation appeals board shall be eligible to serve an additional two (2) full terms. In the initial appointment of judges to the workers' compensation appeals board, one (1) judge appointed shall serve a term of two (2) years, one (1) judge appointed shall serve a term of four (4) years, and one (1) judge appointed shall serve a term of six (6) years.
The governor shall have authority to remove a judge sitting on the workers' compensation appeals board during an unexpired term for the commission of any of the judicial offenses provided in § 17-5-301(j)(1).
Any person appointed to serve as a judge on the workers' compensation appeals board shall be required to take an oath or affirmation to support the constitutions of the United States and of this state, and to administer justice without respect of persons, and impartially to discharge all the duties incumbent upon a judge to the best of the judge's skill and ability. The governor or any active or retired Tennessee judge or chancellor may administer the oath.
No person appointed to serve as a judge on the workers' compensation appeals board shall practice law, or perform any of the functions of attorney or counsel, in any of the courts of this state, except in cases in which the judge may have been employed as counsel previous to the appointment as a judge on the workers' compensation appeals board. A newly appointed judge on the workers' compensation appeals board can practice law only in an effort to wind up the judge's practice and must end the practice of law as soon as reasonably possible and in no event longer than one hundred eighty (180) days after assuming the position of judge on the workers' compensation appeals board.