| 1 | 1 | | 82R9470 JAM-F |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Woolley H.B. No. 3327 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to limiting the liability of persons who employ license |
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| 8 | 8 | | holders with criminal convictions. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Chapter 53, Occupations Code, is amended by |
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| 11 | 11 | | adding Subchapter E to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | SUBCHAPTER E. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY FOR HIRING |
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| 13 | 13 | | CERTAIN LICENSE HOLDERS |
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| 14 | 14 | | Sec. 53.151. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: |
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| 15 | 15 | | (1) "Employee" means a person other than an |
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| 16 | 16 | | independent contractor who, for compensation, performs services |
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| 17 | 17 | | for an employer under a written or oral contract for hire, whether |
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| 18 | 18 | | express or implied. |
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| 19 | 19 | | (2) "Independent contractor" has the meaning assigned |
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| 20 | 20 | | by Section 91.001, Labor Code. |
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| 21 | 21 | | (3) "License holder" means an employee or independent |
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| 22 | 22 | | contractor who holds a license, including a provisional license. |
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| 23 | 23 | | Sec. 53.152. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY FOR HIRING LICENSE |
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| 24 | 24 | | HOLDER CONVICTED OF OFFENSE. (a) A cause of action may not be |
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| 25 | 25 | | brought against an employer, general contractor, premises owner, or |
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| 26 | 26 | | other third party solely for hiring a person who holds a license |
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| 27 | 27 | | issued by a licensing authority to which this chapter applies who |
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| 28 | 28 | | has been convicted of an offense. |
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| 29 | 29 | | (b) In a negligent hiring action against an employer, |
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| 30 | 30 | | general contractor, premises owner, or other third party for the |
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| 31 | 31 | | acts of a license holder that is based on a theory of liability |
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| 32 | 32 | | other than that described by Subsection (a), the fact that the |
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| 33 | 33 | | license holder was convicted of an offense before the license |
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| 34 | 34 | | holder's employment or contractual obligation with the employer, |
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| 35 | 35 | | general contractor, premises owner, or other third party, as |
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| 36 | 36 | | applicable, may not be introduced into evidence. |
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| 37 | 37 | | (c) This section does not preclude any existing cause of |
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| 38 | 38 | | action for failure of an employer or other person to provide |
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| 39 | 39 | | adequate supervision of a license holder, except that the fact that |
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| 40 | 40 | | the license holder has been convicted of a criminal offense may be |
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| 41 | 41 | | introduced into evidence in the suit only if: |
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| 42 | 42 | | (1) the employer knew or should have known of the |
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| 43 | 43 | | conviction; and |
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| 44 | 44 | | (2) the conviction was directly related to the nature |
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| 45 | 45 | | of the license holder's work and the conduct that gave rise to the |
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| 46 | 46 | | alleged injury that is the basis of the suit. |
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| 47 | 47 | | (d) The protections provided to an employer, general |
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| 48 | 48 | | contractor, premises owner, or third party under this section do |
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| 49 | 49 | | not apply in a suit concerning the misuse of funds or property of a |
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| 50 | 50 | | person other than the employer, general contractor, premises owner, |
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| 51 | 51 | | or third party by a license holder if, on the date the license |
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| 52 | 52 | | holder was hired, the license holder had been convicted of a crime |
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| 53 | 53 | | that includes fraud or the misuse of funds or property as an element |
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| 54 | 54 | | of the offense, and it was foreseeable that the position for which |
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| 55 | 55 | | the license holder was hired would involve discharging a fiduciary |
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| 56 | 56 | | responsibility in the management of funds or property. |
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| 57 | 57 | | (e) This section does not create a cause of action or expand |
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| 58 | 58 | | any existing cause of action. |
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| 59 | 59 | | SECTION 2. Subchapter E, Occupations Code, as added by this |
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| 60 | 60 | | Act, applies only to a cause of action that accrues on or after the |
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| 61 | 61 | | effective date of this Act. A cause of action that accrues before |
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| 62 | 62 | | the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect |
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| 63 | 63 | | immediately before that date, and the former law is continued in |
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| 64 | 64 | | effect for that purpose. |
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| 65 | 65 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 66 | 66 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 67 | 67 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 68 | 68 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 69 | 69 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |
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