Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2409 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	85R22961 MCK-F
2	1		By: Raney, González of El Paso, Simmons, H.B. No. 2409
3	2		Shine, Romero, Jr., et al.
4		-	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2409:
5		-	By: Workman C.S.H.B. No. 2409
6	3
7	4
8	5		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
9	6		AN ACT
10	7		relating to wage requirements for community rehabilitation
11	8		programs participating in the purchasing from people with
12	9		disabilities program.
13	10		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	11		SECTION 1. Chapter 122, Human Resources Code, is amended by
15	12		adding Sections 122.0075 and 122.0076 to read as follows:
16	13		Sec. 122.0075. INCREASE IN WAGES; PLAN. (a) This section
17	14		applies to a community rehabilitation program that:
18	15		(1) is participating in the program administered under
19	16		this chapter; and
20	17		(2) pays workers with disabilities employed by the
21	18		program wages that are less than the federal minimum wage under
22	19		Section 6, Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. Section 206).
23	20		(b) The workforce commission shall assist:
24	21		(1) a community rehabilitation program in developing a
25	22		plan to increase the wages paid to its workers with disabilities to
26	23		the federal minimum wage not later than September 1, 2019, for work
27	24		relating to any products or services purchased from the community
28	25		rehabilitation program through the program administered under this
29	26		chapter; and
30	27		(2) a community rehabilitation program and any worker
31		-	with a disability, or request, to ensure the increase in wages paid
	28	+	with a disability, on request, to ensure the increase in wages paid
32	29		to a worker with a disability does not affect the worker's
33	30		eligibility to receive any federal benefits the worker received or
34	31		was eligible to receive before the wage increase.
35	32		(c) Each community rehabilitation program shall, to the
36	33		maximum extent possible, ensure that each worker with a disability
37	34		remains employed by the program after the program increases the
38	35		wages paid to those employees in accordance with the plan developed
39	36		under Subsection (b).
40	37		(d) If a community rehabilitation program is unable to
41	38		employ all workers with a disability after the program increases
42	39		the wages paid to those employees to the federal minimum wage, the
43	40		community rehabilitation program shall work with the workforce
44	41		commission and any other governmental entity to seek and obtain any
45	42		job training that may be suitable for those former employees to find
46	43		other employment that pays at least the federal minimum wage.
47	44		(e) In addition to the assistance described by Subsection
48	45		(d), the workforce commission may, at the worker's request, assist
49	46		a worker with a disability not retained by a community
50	47		rehabilitation program to secure employment in a position that pays
51	48		at least the federal minimum wage.
52	49		(f) On request of a community rehabilitation program, the
53	50		workforce commission may extend the period for compliance with the
54	51		program participation requirements of Section 122.0076 for not more
55	52		than 12 months if the community rehabilitation program:
56	53		(1) requests the extension not later than July 1,
57	54		2019;
58	55		(2) has demonstrated to the commission that an
59	56		extension would be in the best interest of the program's employees
60	57		with disabilities;
61	58		(3) has worked with the commission to develop a
62	59		transition plan and made meaningful progress towards meeting the
63	60		program participation requirements of Section 122.0076; and
64	61		(4) submits a revised transition plan to the
65	62		commission detailing how an extension will allow the program to
66	63		meet the program participation requirements of Section 122.0076.
67	64		(g) The workforce commission shall make a decision on a
68	65		request for an extension under Subsection (f) not later than
69	66		September 1, 2019. The commission may not grant more than one
70	67		extension to a community rehabilitation program.
71	68		(h) Not later than January 31, 2019, the workforce
72	69		commission shall report to the legislature regarding the
73	70		implementation of this section. The report must include any
74	71		recommendations for legislative or agency rule changes necessary to
75	72		assist the commission and community rehabilitation program in
76	73		performing their duties under this section.
77	74		(i) This section expires September 1, 2021.
78	75		Sec. 122.0076. WAGE REQUIREMENTS. (a) A community
79	76		rehabilitation program may not participate in the program
80	77		administered under this chapter unless each worker with a
81	78		disability employed by the program is paid at least the federal
82	79		minimum wage under Section 6, Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29
83	80		U.S.C. Section 206), for any work relating to any products or
84	81		services purchased from the community rehabilitation program
85	82		through the program administered under this chapter.
86		-	(b) To the extent of a conflict between this section and
	83	+	(b) The workforce commission, at the request of a community
	84	+	rehabilitation program or any worker with a disability, may exempt
	85	+	the community rehabilitation program from the requirements of this
	86	+	section with respect to a worker with a disability if the workforce
	87	+	commission determines, based on the program's circumstances, that
	88	+	requiring the program to pay the worker at the federal minimum wage
	89	+	would result in the program not being able to hire or retain the
	90	+	worker with a disability and the worker, based on the worker's
	91	+	circumstances, such as commuting to a particular job site, would
	92	+	not be able to obtain employment at a higher wage than the program
	93	+	would be able to pay the worker notwithstanding the requirements of
	94	+	this section.
	95	+	(c) To the extent of a conflict between this section and
87	96		Chapter 62, Labor Code, this section controls.
88		-	(c) This section does not apply to a community
	97	+	(d) This section does not apply to a community
89	98		rehabilitation program's eligibility to participate in the program
90	99		administered under this chapter before the later of:
91	100		(1) September 1, 2019; or
92	101		(2) the date an extension granted under Section
93	102		122.0075(f) expires.
94		-	(d) This subsection and Subsection (c) expire September 1,
	103	+	(e) This subsection and Subsection (d) expire September 1,
95	104		2021.
96	105		SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.