| 1 | 1 | | By: Thompson of Harris, Perry, Miles H.B. No. 1188 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (Senate Sponsor - Whitmire) |
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| 3 | 3 | | (In the Senate - Received from the House April 29, 2013; |
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| 4 | 4 | | April 30, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on State |
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| 5 | 5 | | Affairs; May 10, 2013, reported favorably by the following vote: |
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| 6 | 6 | | Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 10, 2013, sent to printer.) |
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| 7 | 7 | | |
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| 8 | 8 | | |
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| 9 | 9 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 10 | 10 | | AN ACT |
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| 11 | 11 | | relating to limiting the liability of persons who employ persons |
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| 12 | 12 | | with criminal convictions. |
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| 13 | 13 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 14 | 14 | | SECTION 1. Title 6, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is |
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| 15 | 15 | | amended by adding Chapter 142 to read as follows: |
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| 16 | 16 | | CHAPTER 142. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY FOR HIRING |
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| 17 | 17 | | CERTAIN EMPLOYEES |
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| 18 | 18 | | Sec. 142.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: |
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| 19 | 19 | | (1) "Employee" means a person other than an |
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| 20 | 20 | | independent contractor who, for compensation, performs services |
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| 21 | 21 | | for an employer under a written or oral contract for hire, whether |
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| 22 | 22 | | express or implied. |
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| 23 | 23 | | (2) "Independent contractor" has the meaning assigned |
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| 24 | 24 | | by Section 91.001, Labor Code. |
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| 25 | 25 | | Sec. 142.002. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY FOR HIRING EMPLOYEE |
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| 26 | 26 | | CONVICTED OF OFFENSE. (a) A cause of action may not be brought |
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| 27 | 27 | | against an employer, general contractor, premises owner, or other |
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| 28 | 28 | | third party solely for negligently hiring or failing to adequately |
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| 29 | 29 | | supervise an employee, based on evidence that the employee has been |
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| 30 | 30 | | convicted of an offense. |
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| 31 | 31 | | (b) This section does not preclude a cause of action for |
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| 32 | 32 | | negligent hiring or the failure of an employer, general contractor, |
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| 33 | 33 | | premises owner, or other third party to provide adequate |
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| 34 | 34 | | supervision of an employee, if: |
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| 35 | 35 | | (1) the employer, general contractor, premises owner, |
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| 36 | 36 | | or other third party knew or should have known of the conviction; |
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| 37 | 37 | | and |
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| 38 | 38 | | (2) the employee was convicted of: |
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| 39 | 39 | | (A) an offense that was committed while |
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| 40 | 40 | | performing duties substantially similar to those reasonably |
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| 41 | 41 | | expected to be performed in the employment, or under conditions |
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| 42 | 42 | | substantially similar to those reasonably expected to be |
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| 43 | 43 | | encountered in the employment, taking into consideration the |
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| 44 | 44 | | factors listed in Sections 53.022 and 53.023(a), Occupations Code, |
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| 45 | 45 | | without regard to whether the occupation requires a license; |
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| 46 | 46 | | (B) an offense listed in Section 3g, Article |
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| 47 | 47 | | 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure; or |
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| 48 | 48 | | (C) a sexually violent offense, as defined by |
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| 49 | 49 | | Article 62.001, Code of Criminal Procedure. |
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| 50 | 50 | | (c) The protections provided to an employer, general |
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| 51 | 51 | | contractor, premises owner, or third party under this section do |
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| 52 | 52 | | not apply in a suit concerning the misuse of funds or property of a |
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| 53 | 53 | | person other than the employer, general contractor, premises owner, |
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| 54 | 54 | | or third party by an employee if, on the date the employee was |
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| 55 | 55 | | hired, the employee had been convicted of a crime that includes |
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| 56 | 56 | | fraud or the misuse of funds or property as an element of the |
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| 57 | 57 | | offense, and it was foreseeable that the position for which the |
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| 58 | 58 | | employee was hired would involve discharging a fiduciary |
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| 59 | 59 | | responsibility in the management of funds or property. |
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| 60 | 60 | | (d) This section does not create a cause of action or expand |
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| 61 | 61 | | an existing cause of action. |
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| 62 | 62 | | SECTION 2. Chapter 142, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, |
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| 63 | 63 | | as added by this Act, applies only to a cause of action that accrues |
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| 64 | 64 | | on or after the effective date of this Act. A cause of action that |
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| 65 | 65 | | accrues before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law |
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| 66 | 66 | | in effect immediately before that date, and the former law is |
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| 67 | 67 | | continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 68 | 68 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 69 | 69 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 70 | 70 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 71 | 71 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 72 | 72 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |
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| 73 | 73 | | * * * * * |
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