83R5723 ADM-F
By: Turner of Tarrant H.B. No. 881
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation of a cause of action for an employee
prohibited from or penalized for voting.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 276.004, Election Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (c), and (d) and adding Subsection (e) to
read as follows:
(a) A person may not [commits an offense if], with respect
to another person over whom the person has authority in the scope of
employment, [the person] knowingly:
(1) refuse [refuses] to permit the other person to be
absent from work on election day for the purpose of attending the
polls to vote; or
(2) subject [subjects] or threaten [threatens] to
subject the other person to a penalty for attending the polls on
election day to vote.
(c) In this section, "penalty" means a loss or reduction of
wages or another benefit of employment, termination of employment,
or other adverse personnel action.
(d) A person who violates Subsection (a) commits an offense.
An offense under this subsection [section] is a Class C
misdemeanor.
(e) A person may bring suit in district court against the
person's employer for violating this section. A person must bring
suit on an action arising under this section not later than the
first anniversary of the day the cause of action accrues.
SECTION 2. Chapter 276, Election Code, is amended by adding
Section 276.0041 to read as follows:
Sec. 276.0041. REMEDIES. (a) On finding that an employer
violated Section 276.004, a court may award the complainant in a
suit brought under Section 276.004(e):
(1) compensatory damages, including back pay, front
pay, and interest on back pay or front pay;
(2) punitive damages to the extent provided by
Subsection (b);
(3) reasonable attorney's fees; and
(4) additional equitable relief as may be appropriate,
including reinstatement to employment.
(b) A complainant may recover punitive damages against an
employer, other than an employer that is a governmental entity, if
the complainant demonstrates that the violation of Section 276.004
was committed with malice or with reckless indifference to the
state-protected rights of an aggrieved individual.
(c) The sum of the amount of compensatory damages awarded
under this section for future pecuniary losses, emotional pain,
suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of
life, and other nonpecuniary losses and the amount of punitive
damages awarded under this section may not exceed, for each
complainant:
(1) $50,000 in the case of an employer that has fewer
than 101 employees;
(2) $100,000 in the case of an employer that has more
than 100 and fewer than 201 employees;
(3) $200,000 in the case of an employer that has more
than 200 and fewer than 501 employees; and
(4) $300,000 in the case of an employer that has more
than 500 employees.
(d) For the purposes of Subsection (c), in determining the
number of employees of an employer, the requisite number of
employees must be employed by the employer for each of 20 or more
calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year.
(e) Interim earnings, workers' compensation benefits, and
unemployment compensation benefits received operate to reduce the
back pay otherwise allowable under this section.
(f) Sovereign immunity to suit and from liability is waived
to the extent of liability created under this section for a
violation of Section 276.004, and an employee may sue a
governmental entity for damages allowed under this section.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.