86R13765 SMT-D
By: Bowers H.B. No. 2501
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the ability of a nonexempt employee to participate in
certain academic, extracurricular, and developmental activities of
the employee's child.
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. EMPLOYEE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATION
IN CERTAIN ACTIVITIES OF EMPLOYEE'S CHILD
Sec. 83.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Employee" means a person other than an
independent contractor who, for compensation, performs services
for an employer under a written or oral contract of hire, whether
express or implied. The term includes an employee engaged to work
flexible hours established periodically by the employer.
(2) "Employer" means a person who employs more than 50
employees in this state, regardless of whether those employees are
exempt from the overtime provisions of the federal Fair Labor
Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. Section 201 et seq.). The term
includes a public employer.
(3) "Reasonable advance written notice" means the
period, determined by the employer, for an employee to provide
written notice of the employee's planned absence under this
chapter.
Sec. 83.002. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies to an
employee who:
(1) is a parent as defined by Section 101.024, Family
Code, legal guardian, custodial caregiver, managing conservator,
or possessory conservator of a child who is in a licensed or
certified child-care facility or prekindergarten through grade 12;
(2) has been employed for not less than 90 days by the
employer granting the unpaid time off; and
(3) is not exempt from the overtime provisions of the
federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. Section 201 et
seq.).
Sec. 83.003. EMPLOYEE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN CERTAIN
ACTIVITIES OF EMPLOYEE'S CHILD. (a) An employee who is subject to
this chapter is entitled to unpaid time off as provided by this
section to:
(1) meet with a teacher, counselor, or school
administrator of the employee's child or with a caregiver of the
child in a child-care facility; or
(2) participate in a facility or school activity of
the employee's child, including award ceremonies, school
productions or events in which the child is participating, or
hearings regarding admission, review, or dismissal.
(b) Except as limited by Subsection (c), an employee is
entitled under this section to up to four hours of time off at one
time in any one-year period for each of the employee's children for
whose activities the employee is entitled to time off under this
chapter.
(c) An employee is not entitled to take time off under this
section more than two times in a one-month period.
(d) Before taking time off under this section, an employee
must provide the employer with reasonable advance written notice of
the planned absence of the employee, unless the need for the absence
was not reasonably foreseeable. The notice must include the date
and time of the planned absence and a brief description of the
meeting or activity in which the employee will be participating. An
employer may not require notice under this subsection of more than
five calendar days.
Sec. 83.004. USE OF LEAVE TIME. (a) An employee may, but is
not required to, use existing vacation leave time, personal leave
time, or compensatory leave time for the purpose of a planned
absence authorized by this chapter except as otherwise provided by
a collective bargaining agreement entered into before September 1,
2019.
(b) The use of leave time under this section may not be
restricted by a term or condition adopted under a collective
bargaining agreement entered into on or after September 1, 2019.
Sec. 83.005. DOCUMENTATION. (a) An employee shall provide
documentation to the employer of the employee's attendance at a
meeting or participation in a particular activity on the employer's
request. An employer may waive the documentation requirement.
(b) For purposes of this section, "documentation" means any
verification of parental attendance at a meeting or participation
in a facility or school activity that the child's facility or school
considers reasonable and appropriate.
Sec. 83.006. SAME EMPLOYER. If both parents of a child are
employed by the same employer at the same workplace, the
entitlement granted under Section 83.003 may be exercised as
regards a specific meeting or activity of that child only by the
employee who first gives notice to the employer as required under
Section 83.003(d). The other parent is entitled to time off to
attend the meeting or activity only as approved by the employer.
Sec. 83.007. EMPLOYER RETALIATION PROHIBITED. (a) An
employer may not suspend or terminate the employment of, or
otherwise discriminate against, an employee who takes a planned
absence authorized by this chapter to attend a meeting or
participate in an activity of the employee's child if the employee
has fulfilled the requirements of Section 83.003(d).
(b) An employee whose employment is suspended or terminated
in violation of this chapter is entitled to:
(1) reinstatement to the employee's former position or
a position that is comparable in terms of compensation, benefits,
and other conditions of employment;
(2) compensation for wages lost during the period of
suspension or termination;
(3) reinstatement of any fringe benefits and seniority
rights lost because of the suspension or termination; and
(4) if the employee brings an action to enforce this
subsection and is the prevailing party, payment by the employer of
court costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
(c) An employer may not decline to interview or hire an
applicant solely because the applicant is a parent, legal guardian,
custodial caregiver, managing conservator, or possessory
conservator of a child in a licensed or certified child-care
facility or prekindergarten through grade 12.
Sec. 83.008. NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES. (a) Each employer shall
inform its employees of their rights under this chapter by posting a
conspicuous sign in a prominent location in the employer's
workplace.
(b) The Texas Workforce Commission by rule shall prescribe
the design and content of the sign required by this section.
SECTION 2. This Act applies only to a suspension,
termination, or other adverse employment action that is taken by an
employer against an employee because of an employee absence
authorized under Chapter 83, Labor Code, as added by this Act, that
occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. Action taken by
an employer against an employee for an employee absence occurring
before that date is governed by the law in effect on the date the
absence occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.