Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1801 Compare Versions

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Version 2 (New)

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1	1	85R616 JSC-D
2	2	By: Blanco H.B. No. 1801
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the prohibition of employment discrimination regarding
8	8	military service members and military veterans.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 21.002, Labor Code, is amended by adding
11	11	Subdivisions (11-b) and (11-c) to read as follows:
12	12	(11-b) "Military service member" means a person who is
13	13	currently serving in the armed forces of the United States, in a
14	14	reserve component of the armed forces of the United States,
15	15	including the National Guard, or in the state military service of
16	16	any state.
17	17	(11-c) "Military veteran" means a person who:
18	18	(A) has served in:
19	19	(i) the armed forces of the United States or
20	20	the United States Public Health Service under 42 U.S.C. Section 201
21	21	et seq.;
22	22	(ii) the state military forces, as defined
23	23	by Section 431.001, Government Code; or
24	24	(iii) an auxiliary service of a branch of
25	25	the armed forces described by Subparagraph (i) or (ii); and
26	26	(B) has been honorably discharged from the branch
27	27	of the service in which the person served.
28	28	SECTION 2. Section 21.005, Labor Code, is amended by adding
29	29	Subsection (d) to read as follows:
30	30	(d) A provision in this chapter prohibiting discrimination
31	31	on the basis of an individual's status as a military service member
32	32	or military veteran does not affect the operation or enforcement of
33	33	a program under the laws of this state or the United States that is
34	34	designed to give a preference to a military service member or
35	35	military veteran in recognition of the service member's or
36	36	veteran's service to this state or the United States, including a
37	37	preference authorized under Section 302.154 or under Chapter 657,
38	38	Government Code.
39	39	SECTION 3. Section 21.051, Labor Code, is amended to read as
40	40	follows:
41	41	Sec. 21.051. DISCRIMINATION BY EMPLOYER. An employer
42	42	commits an unlawful employment practice if because of race, color,
43	43	disability, religion, sex, national origin, or age, or because of
44	44	the individual's status as a military service member or military
45	45	veteran, the employer:
46	46	(1) fails or refuses to hire an individual, discharges
47	47	an individual, or discriminates in any other manner against an
48	48	individual in connection with compensation or the terms,
49	49	conditions, or privileges of employment; or
50	50	(2) limits, segregates, or classifies an employee or
51	51	applicant for employment in a manner that would deprive or tend to
52	52	deprive an individual of any employment opportunity or adversely
53	53	affect in any other manner the status of an employee.
54	54	SECTION 4. Section 21.052, Labor Code, is amended to read as
55	55	follows:
56	56	Sec. 21.052. DISCRIMINATION BY EMPLOYMENT AGENCY. An
57	57	employment agency commits an unlawful employment practice if the
58	58	employment agency:
59	59	(1) fails or refuses to refer for employment or
60	60	discriminates in any other manner against an individual because of
61	61	race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, or age, or
62	62	because of the individual's status as a military service member or
63	63	military veteran; or
64	64	(2) classifies or refers an individual for employment
65	65	on the basis of race, color, disability, religion, sex, national
66	66	origin, or age, or because of the individual's status as a military
67	67	service member or military veteran.
68	68	SECTION 5. Section 21.053, Labor Code, is amended to read as
69	69	follows:
70	70	Sec. 21.053. DISCRIMINATION BY LABOR ORGANIZATION. A labor
71	71	organization commits an unlawful employment practice if because of
72	72	race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, or age, or
73	73	because of the individual's status as a military service member or
74	74	military veteran, the labor organization:
75	75	(1) excludes or expels from membership or
76	76	discriminates in any other manner against an individual; or
77	77	(2) limits, segregates, or classifies a member or an
78	78	applicant for membership or classifies or fails or refuses to refer
79	79	for employment an individual in a manner that would:
80	80	(A) deprive or tend to deprive an individual of
81	81	any employment opportunity;
82	82	(B) limit an employment opportunity or adversely
83	83	affect in any other manner the status of an employee or of an
84	84	applicant for employment; or
85	85	(C) cause or attempt to cause an employer to
86	86	violate this subchapter.
87	87	SECTION 6. Section 21.054(a), Labor Code, is amended to
88	88	read as follows:
89	89	(a) Unless a training or retraining opportunity or program
90	90	is provided under an affirmative action plan approved under a
91	91	federal law, rule, or order, an employer, labor organization, or
92	92	joint labor-management committee controlling an apprenticeship,
93	93	on-the-job training, or other training or retraining program
94	94	commits an unlawful employment practice if the employer, labor
95	95	organization, or committee discriminates against an individual
96	96	because of race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin,
97	97	or age, or because of the individual's status as a military service
98	98	member or military veteran, in admission to or participation in the
99	99	program.
100	100	SECTION 7. Section 21.059(a), Labor Code, is amended to
101	101	read as follows:
102	102	(a) An employer, labor organization, employment agency, or
103	103	joint labor-management committee controlling an apprenticeship,
104	104	on-the-job training, or other training or retraining program
105	105	commits an unlawful employment practice if the employer, labor
106	106	organization, employment agency, or committee prints or publishes
107	107	or causes to be printed or published a notice or advertisement
108	108	relating to employment that:
109	109	(1) indicates a preference, limitation,
110	110	specification, or discrimination based on race, color, disability,
111	111	religion, sex, national origin, or age, or based on an individual's
112	112	status as a military service member or military veteran; and
113	113	(2) concerns an employee's status, employment, or
114	114	admission to or membership or participation in a labor union or
115	115	training or retraining program.
116	116	SECTION 8. Section 21.102(c), Labor Code, is amended to
117	117	read as follows:
118	118	(c) This section does not apply to standards of compensation
119	119	or terms, conditions, or privileges of employment that are
120	120	discriminatory on the basis of race, color, disability, religion,
121	121	sex, national origin, or age, or on the basis of an individual's
122	122	status as a military service member or military veteran.
123	123	SECTION 9. Section 21.112, Labor Code, is amended to read as
124	124	follows:
125	125	Sec. 21.112. EMPLOYEES AT DIFFERENT LOCATIONS. An employer
126	126	does not commit an unlawful employment practice by applying to
127	127	employees who work in different locations different standards of
128	128	compensation or different terms, conditions, or privileges of
129	129	employment that are not discriminatory on the basis of race, color,
130	130	disability, religion, sex, national origin, or age, or on the basis
131	131	of an individual's status as a military service member or military
132	132	veteran.
133	133	SECTION 10. Section 21.113, Labor Code, is amended to read
134	134	as follows:
135	135	Sec. 21.113. IMBALANCE PLAN NOT REQUIRED. This chapter
136	136	does not require a person subject to this chapter to grant
137	137	preferential treatment to an individual or a group on the basis of
138	138	race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, or age, or
139	139	on the basis of an individual's status as a military service member
140	140	or military veteran, because of an imbalance between:
141	141	(1) the total number or percentage of persons of that
142	142	individual's or group's race, color, disability, religion, sex,
143	143	national origin, or age, or the total number or percentage of
144	144	individuals who are military service members or military veterans:
145	145	(A) employed by an employer;
146	146	(B) referred or classified for employment by an
147	147	employment agency or labor organization;
148	148	(C) admitted to membership or classified by a
149	149	labor organization; or
150	150	(D) admitted to or employed in an apprenticeship,
151	151	on-the-job training, or other training or retraining program; and
152	152	(2) the total number or percentage of persons of that
153	153	race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, or age, or
154	154	the total number or percentage of individuals who are military
155	155	service members or military veterans, in:
156	156	(A) a community, this state, a region, or other
157	157	area; or
158	158	(B) the available work force in a community, this
159	159	state, a region, or other area.
160	160	SECTION 11. Section 21.120(b), Labor Code, is amended to
161	161	read as follows:
162	162	(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to a policy adopted or
163	163	applied with the intent to discriminate because of race, color,
164	164	sex, national origin, religion, age, or disability, or because of
165	165	an individual's status as a military service member or military
166	166	veteran.
167	167	SECTION 12. Section 21.122(a), Labor Code, is amended to
168	168	read as follows:
169	169	(a) An unlawful employment practice based on disparate
170	170	impact is established under this chapter only if:
171	171	(1) a complainant demonstrates that a respondent uses
172	172	a particular employment practice that causes a disparate impact on
173	173	the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, or
174	174	disability, or on the basis of an individual's status as a military
175	175	service member or military veteran, and the respondent fails to
176	176	demonstrate that the challenged practice is job-related for the
177	177	position in question and consistent with business necessity; or
178	178	(2) the complainant makes the demonstration in
179	179	accordance with federal law as that law existed June 4, 1989, with
180	180	respect to the concept of alternative employment practices, and the
181	181	respondent refuses to adopt such an alternative employment
182	182	practice.
183	183	SECTION 13. Section 21.124, Labor Code, is amended to read
184	184	as follows:
185	185	Sec. 21.124. PROHIBITION AGAINST DISCRIMINATORY USE OF TEST
186	186	SCORES. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), it [It] is an
187	187	unlawful employment practice for a respondent, in connection with
188	188	the selection or referral of applicants for employment or
189	189	promotion, to adjust the scores of, use different cutoff scores
190	190	for, or otherwise alter the results of employment-related tests on
191	191	the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, or
192	192	disability, or on the basis of an individual's status as a military
193	193	service member or military veteran.
194	194	(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to an act described by
195	195	that subsection that is made in conjunction with a preference
196	196	program for military service members or military veterans
197	197	authorized under a law of this state or the United States.
198	198	SECTION 14. The heading to Section 21.125, Labor Code, is
199	199	amended to read as follows:
200	200	Sec. 21.125. CLARIFYING PROHIBITION AGAINST IMPERMISSIBLE
201	201	CONSIDERATION OF RACE, COLOR, SEX, NATIONAL ORIGIN, RELIGION, AGE,
202	202	OR DISABILITY, OR STATUS AS MILITARY SERVICE MEMBER OR MILITARY
203	203	VETERAN, IN EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES.
204	204	SECTION 15. Section 21.125(a), Labor Code, is amended to
205	205	read as follows:
206	206	(a) Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, an
207	207	unlawful employment practice is established when the complainant
208	208	demonstrates that race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age,
209	209	or disability, or status as a military service member or military
210	210	veteran, was a motivating factor for an employment practice, even
211	211	if other factors also motivated the practice, unless race, color,
212	212	sex, national origin, religion, age, or disability, or status as a
213	213	military service member or military veteran, is combined with
214	214	objective job-related factors to attain diversity in the employer's
215	215	work force.
216	216	SECTION 16. Section 21.126, Labor Code, is amended to read
217	217	as follows:
218	218	Sec. 21.126. COVERAGE OF PREVIOUSLY EXEMPT EMPLOYEES OF THE
219	219	STATE OR POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THE STATE. It is an unlawful
220	220	employment practice for a person elected to public office in this
221	221	state or a political subdivision of this state to discriminate
222	222	because of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, or
223	223	disability, or because of the individual's status as a military
224	224	service member or military veteran, against an individual who is an
225	225	employee or applicant for employment to:
226	226	(1) serve on the elected official's personal staff;
227	227	(2) serve the elected official on a policy-making
228	228	level; or
229	229	(3) serve the elected official as an immediate advisor
230	230	with respect to the exercise of the constitutional or legal powers
231	231	of the office.
232	232	SECTION 17. Section 21.152(a), Labor Code, is amended to
233	233	read as follows:
234	234	(a) A political subdivision or two or more political
235	235	subdivisions acting jointly may create a local commission to:
236	236	(1) promote the purposes of this chapter; and
237	237	(2) secure for all individuals in the jurisdiction of
238	238	each political subdivision freedom from discrimination because of
239	239	race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, or age, or
240	240	on the basis of an individual's status as a military service member
241	241	or military veteran.
242	242	SECTION 18. Section 21.155(a), Labor Code, is amended to
243	243	read as follows:
244	244	(a) The commission [Commission on Human Rights] shall refer
245	245	a complaint concerning discrimination in employment because of
246	246	race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, or age, or
247	247	because of status as a military service member or military veteran,
248	248	that is filed with that commission to a local commission with the
249	249	necessary investigatory and conciliatory powers if:
250	250	(1) the complaint has been referred to the commission
251	251	[Commission on Human Rights] by the federal government; or
252	252	(2) jurisdiction over the subject matter of the
253	253	complaint has been deferred to the commission [Commission on Human
254	254	Rights] by the federal government.
255	255	SECTION 19. This Act applies to conduct occurring on or
256	256	after the effective date of this Act. Conduct occurring before that
257	257	date is governed by the law in effect on the date the conduct
258	258	occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that
259	259	purpose.
260	260	SECTION 20. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.