85R3743 JSC-D
By: RodrÃguez, Garcia S.B. No. 473
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to paid rest breaks for construction employees of
construction contractors and subcontractors; providing an
administrative penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle D, Title 2, Labor Code, is amended by
adding Chapter 83 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 83. PAID REST BREAKS FOR CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYEES
Sec. 83.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Commission" means the Texas Workforce
Commission.
(2) "Construction employee" means an individual paid
by a construction employer to perform general construction work or
services.
(3) "Construction employer" means a contractor or
subcontractor who employs one or more construction employees in
this state.
(4) "Contractor" means a person, firm, or corporation
contracting for general construction.
(5) "General construction" means the:
(A) erection of or preparation to erect a
structure;
(B) remodeling, extension, repair, or demolition
of a structure; or
(C) other improvement of real property or a
structure related to real property.
(6) "Rest break" means a break from work during work
hours. The term does not include a regular meal break period
provided to a construction employee by a construction employer.
(7) "Subcontractor" means a person, firm, or
corporation contracting with a contractor for general
construction.
Sec. 83.002. PAID REST BREAKS REQUIRED. (a) A construction
employer shall provide at least a 15-minute paid rest break for
every four hours of work to each construction employee.
(b) The construction employer may not require the paid rest
break to be taken as part of a separate meal break.
Sec. 83.003. NOTICE TO CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYEES. (a) Each
construction employer shall, at the time of hiring, provide notice
in both English and Spanish to each construction employee:
(1) of the employee's entitlement to paid rest breaks
under this chapter;
(2) that retaliation by the employer against the
employee for requesting or taking paid rest breaks to which the
employee is entitled under this chapter is prohibited; and
(3) that the employee has a right to file a complaint
with the commission for any violation of this chapter.
(b) A construction employer may comply with this section by
displaying a poster in a conspicuous place, accessible to
construction employees, at the employer's place of business and at
the applicable construction work site that contains the information
required by this section in both English and Spanish.
(c) The commission by rule shall prescribe the design and
content of the sign described by Subsection (b).
Sec. 83.004. RETALIATION PROHIBITED. A construction
employer may not take retaliatory personnel action or otherwise
discriminate against a construction employee because the employee:
(1) requests or takes paid rest breaks in accordance
with this chapter; or
(2) files a complaint with the commission alleging the
employer's violation of this chapter.
Sec. 83.005. COMPLAINT; HEARING; PENALTY. (a) Any
construction employee aggrieved by a violation of this chapter may
file a claim with the commission in the manner prescribed by
Subchapter D, Chapter 61. Except as otherwise provided by this
chapter, the commission shall investigate and dispose of the
complaint in the same manner as a wage claim under Subchapter D,
Chapter 61.
(b) A construction employer that violates any applicable
requirement of this chapter must be provided with an opportunity to
correct the violation under Subsection (d).
(c) The commission shall notify the construction employer
if the commission determines that the employer has violated this
chapter.
(d) If the construction employer corrects the violation not
later than the 30th business day after the date the employer
receives notice under Subsection (c), the commission may not assess
an administrative penalty against the employer.
(e) The commission may assess an administrative penalty
against a construction employer for a violation of this chapter
only if the employer fails to correct the violation before the 31st
business day after the date the employer receives notice that the
employer has violated this chapter.
(f) The commission may award the construction employee all
appropriate relief, including rehiring or reinstatement to the
employee's previous job, payment of back wages, and reestablishment
of employee benefits for which the employee otherwise would have
been eligible if the employee had not been subject to retaliatory
personnel action or other discrimination.
(g) A party may appeal a final decision of the commission in
the manner prescribed by Section 61.062.
SECTION 2. Chapter 83, Labor Code, as added by this Act,
applies only to a violation that occurs on or after the effective
date of this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.