85R616 JSC-D
By: Blanco H.B. No. 1801
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the prohibition of employment discrimination regarding
military service members and military veterans.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 21.002, Labor Code, is amended by adding
Subdivisions (11-b) and (11-c) to read as follows:
(11-b) "Military service member" means a person who is
currently serving in the armed forces of the United States, in a
reserve component of the armed forces of the United States,
including the National Guard, or in the state military service of
any state.
(11-c) "Military veteran" means a person who:
(A) has served in:
(i) the armed forces of the United States or
the United States Public Health Service under 42 U.S.C. Section 201
et seq.;
(ii) the state military forces, as defined
by Section 431.001, Government Code; or
(iii) an auxiliary service of a branch of
the armed forces described by Subparagraph (i) or (ii); and
(B) has been honorably discharged from the branch
of the service in which the person served.
SECTION 2. Section 21.005, Labor Code, is amended by adding
Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) A provision in this chapter prohibiting discrimination
on the basis of an individual's status as a military service member
or military veteran does not affect the operation or enforcement of
a program under the laws of this state or the United States that is
designed to give a preference to a military service member or
military veteran in recognition of the service member's or
veteran's service to this state or the United States, including a
preference authorized under Section 302.154 or under Chapter 657,
Government Code.
SECTION 3. Section 21.051, Labor Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 21.051. DISCRIMINATION BY EMPLOYER. An employer
commits an unlawful employment practice if because of race, color,
disability, religion, sex, national origin, or age, or because of
the individual's status as a military service member or military
veteran, the employer:
(1) fails or refuses to hire an individual, discharges
an individual, or discriminates in any other manner against an
individual in connection with compensation or the terms,
conditions, or privileges of employment; or
(2) limits, segregates, or classifies an employee or
applicant for employment in a manner that would deprive or tend to
deprive an individual of any employment opportunity or adversely
affect in any other manner the status of an employee.
SECTION 4. Section 21.052, Labor Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 21.052. DISCRIMINATION BY EMPLOYMENT AGENCY. An
employment agency commits an unlawful employment practice if the
employment agency:
(1) fails or refuses to refer for employment or
discriminates in any other manner against an individual because of
race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, or age, or
because of the individual's status as a military service member or
military veteran; or
(2) classifies or refers an individual for employment
on the basis of race, color, disability, religion, sex, national
origin, or age, or because of the individual's status as a military
service member or military veteran.
SECTION 5. Section 21.053, Labor Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 21.053. DISCRIMINATION BY LABOR ORGANIZATION. A labor
organization commits an unlawful employment practice if because of
race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, or age, or
because of the individual's status as a military service member or
military veteran, the labor organization:
(1) excludes or expels from membership or
discriminates in any other manner against an individual; or
(2) limits, segregates, or classifies a member or an
applicant for membership or classifies or fails or refuses to refer
for employment an individual in a manner that would:
(A) deprive or tend to deprive an individual of
any employment opportunity;
(B) limit an employment opportunity or adversely
affect in any other manner the status of an employee or of an
applicant for employment; or
(C) cause or attempt to cause an employer to
violate this subchapter.
SECTION 6. Section 21.054(a), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Unless a training or retraining opportunity or program
is provided under an affirmative action plan approved under a
federal law, rule, or order, an employer, labor organization, or
joint labor-management committee controlling an apprenticeship,
on-the-job training, or other training or retraining program
commits an unlawful employment practice if the employer, labor
organization, or committee discriminates against an individual
because of race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin,
or age, or because of the individual's status as a military service
member or military veteran, in admission to or participation in the
program.
SECTION 7. Section 21.059(a), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) An employer, labor organization, employment agency, or
joint labor-management committee controlling an apprenticeship,
on-the-job training, or other training or retraining program
commits an unlawful employment practice if the employer, labor
organization, employment agency, or committee prints or publishes
or causes to be printed or published a notice or advertisement
relating to employment that:
(1) indicates a preference, limitation,
specification, or discrimination based on race, color, disability,
religion, sex, national origin, or age, or based on an individual's
status as a military service member or military veteran; and
(2) concerns an employee's status, employment, or
admission to or membership or participation in a labor union or
training or retraining program.
SECTION 8. Section 21.102(c), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) This section does not apply to standards of compensation
or terms, conditions, or privileges of employment that are
discriminatory on the basis of race, color, disability, religion,
sex, national origin, or age, or on the basis of an individual's
status as a military service member or military veteran.
SECTION 9. Section 21.112, Labor Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 21.112. EMPLOYEES AT DIFFERENT LOCATIONS. An employer
does not commit an unlawful employment practice by applying to
employees who work in different locations different standards of
compensation or different terms, conditions, or privileges of
employment that are not discriminatory on the basis of race, color,
disability, religion, sex, national origin, or age, or on the basis
of an individual's status as a military service member or military
veteran.
SECTION 10. Section 21.113, Labor Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 21.113. IMBALANCE PLAN NOT REQUIRED. This chapter
does not require a person subject to this chapter to grant
preferential treatment to an individual or a group on the basis of
race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, or age, or
on the basis of an individual's status as a military service member
or military veteran, because of an imbalance between:
(1) the total number or percentage of persons of that
individual's or group's race, color, disability, religion, sex,
national origin, or age, or the total number or percentage of
individuals who are military service members or military veterans:
(A) employed by an employer;
(B) referred or classified for employment by an
employment agency or labor organization;
(C) admitted to membership or classified by a
labor organization; or
(D) admitted to or employed in an apprenticeship,
on-the-job training, or other training or retraining program; and
(2) the total number or percentage of persons of that
race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, or age, or
the total number or percentage of individuals who are military
service members or military veterans, in:
(A) a community, this state, a region, or other
area; or
(B) the available work force in a community, this
state, a region, or other area.
SECTION 11. Section 21.120(b), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to a policy adopted or
applied with the intent to discriminate because of race, color,
sex, national origin, religion, age, or disability, or because of
an individual's status as a military service member or military
veteran.
SECTION 12. Section 21.122(a), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) An unlawful employment practice based on disparate
impact is established under this chapter only if:
(1) a complainant demonstrates that a respondent uses
a particular employment practice that causes a disparate impact on
the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, or
disability, or on the basis of an individual's status as a military
service member or military veteran, and the respondent fails to
demonstrate that the challenged practice is job-related for the
position in question and consistent with business necessity; or
(2) the complainant makes the demonstration in
accordance with federal law as that law existed June 4, 1989, with
respect to the concept of alternative employment practices, and the
respondent refuses to adopt such an alternative employment
practice.
SECTION 13. Section 21.124, Labor Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 21.124. PROHIBITION AGAINST DISCRIMINATORY USE OF TEST
SCORES. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), it [It] is an
unlawful employment practice for a respondent, in connection with
the selection or referral of applicants for employment or
promotion, to adjust the scores of, use different cutoff scores
for, or otherwise alter the results of employment-related tests on
the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, or
disability, or on the basis of an individual's status as a military
service member or military veteran.
(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to an act described by
that subsection that is made in conjunction with a preference
program for military service members or military veterans
authorized under a law of this state or the United States.
SECTION 14. The heading to Section 21.125, Labor Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 21.125. CLARIFYING PROHIBITION AGAINST IMPERMISSIBLE
CONSIDERATION OF RACE, COLOR, SEX, NATIONAL ORIGIN, RELIGION, AGE,
OR DISABILITY, OR STATUS AS MILITARY SERVICE MEMBER OR MILITARY
VETERAN, IN EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES.
SECTION 15. Section 21.125(a), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, an
unlawful employment practice is established when the complainant
demonstrates that race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age,
or disability, or status as a military service member or military
veteran, was a motivating factor for an employment practice, even
if other factors also motivated the practice, unless race, color,
sex, national origin, religion, age, or disability, or status as a
military service member or military veteran, is combined with
objective job-related factors to attain diversity in the employer's
work force.
SECTION 16. Section 21.126, Labor Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 21.126. COVERAGE OF PREVIOUSLY EXEMPT EMPLOYEES OF THE
STATE OR POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THE STATE. It is an unlawful
employment practice for a person elected to public office in this
state or a political subdivision of this state to discriminate
because of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, or
disability, or because of the individual's status as a military
service member or military veteran, against an individual who is an
employee or applicant for employment to:
(1) serve on the elected official's personal staff;
(2) serve the elected official on a policy-making
level; or
(3) serve the elected official as an immediate advisor
with respect to the exercise of the constitutional or legal powers
of the office.
SECTION 17. Section 21.152(a), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) A political subdivision or two or more political
subdivisions acting jointly may create a local commission to:
(1) promote the purposes of this chapter; and
(2) secure for all individuals in the jurisdiction of
each political subdivision freedom from discrimination because of
race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, or age, or
on the basis of an individual's status as a military service member
or military veteran.
SECTION 18. Section 21.155(a), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The commission [Commission on Human Rights] shall refer
a complaint concerning discrimination in employment because of
race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, or age, or
because of status as a military service member or military veteran,
that is filed with that commission to a local commission with the
necessary investigatory and conciliatory powers if:
(1) the complaint has been referred to the commission
[Commission on Human Rights] by the federal government; or
(2) jurisdiction over the subject matter of the
complaint has been deferred to the commission [Commission on Human
Rights] by the federal government.
SECTION 19. This Act applies to conduct occurring on or
after the effective date of this Act. Conduct occurring before that
date is governed by the law in effect on the date the conduct
occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 20. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.