86R7646 LED-D
By: Neave H.B. No. 1527
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to an employee's liability for sexual harassment.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 21.002(13), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(13) "Respondent" means the person charged in a
complaint filed under this chapter and may include an employer,
employee, employment agency, labor organization, or joint
labor-management committee that controls an apprenticeship or
other training or retraining program, including an on-the-job
training program.
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 21, Labor Code, is amended
by adding Section 21.062 to read as follows:
Sec. 21.062. DISCRIMINATION BY EMPLOYEE. (a) In this
section, "sexual harassment" means an unwelcome sexual advance, a
request for a sexual favor, or any other verbal or physical conduct
of a sexual nature if:
(1) submission to the advance, request, or conduct is
made a term or condition of an individual's employment, either
explicitly or implicitly;
(2) submission to or rejection of the advance,
request, or conduct by an individual is used as the basis for a
decision affecting the individual's employment;
(3) the advance, request, or conduct has the purpose
or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work
performance; or
(4) the advance, request, or conduct has the purpose
or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive
working environment.
(b) An employee commits an unlawful employment practice if
the employee engages in sexual harassment of another employee.
SECTION 3. Section 21.2585, Labor Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (f) to read as
follows:
(d) Except as provided by Subsection (f), the [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 a respondent that has fewer
than 101 employees;
(2) $100,000 in the case of a respondent that has more
than 100 and fewer than 201 employees;
(3) $200,000 in the case of a respondent that has more
than 200 and fewer than 501 employees; and
(4) $300,000 in the case of a respondent that has more
than 500 employees.
(f) Subsection (d) does not apply to damages awarded against
an employee.
SECTION 4. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a cause of action that accrues on or after the effective date of
this Act. A cause of action that accrued before the effective date
of this Act is governed by the law applicable to the cause of action
immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.