Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3410 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	86R9963 KKR-F
2	2	By: Reynolds H.B. No. 3410
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to requiring certain employers to provide paid sick leave
8	8	to employees; providing administrative and civil penalties.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subtitle D, Title 2, Labor Code, is amended by
11	11	adding Chapter 83 to read as follows:
12	12	CHAPTER 83. EARNED PAID SICK LEAVE
13	13	Sec. 83.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
14	14	(1) "Commission" means the Texas Workforce
15	15	Commission.
16	16	(2) "Employee" means a person employed by an employer.
17	17	(3) "Employer" means a person who is engaged in an
18	18	industry affecting commerce and who employs one or more employees.
19	19	(4) "Family member" means:
20	20	(A) the employee's spouse;
21	21	(B) the employee's natural child, adopted child,
22	22	stepchild, foster child, or legal ward;
23	23	(C) a child to whom the employee stands in loco
24	24	parentis;
25	25	(D) a person to whom the employee stood in loco
26	26	parentis when the person was a child;
27	27	(E) the employee's parent, foster parent,
28	28	stepparent, adoptive parent, or legal guardian or conservator;
29	29	(F) a parent, foster parent, stepparent,
30	30	adoptive parent, or legal guardian or conservator of the employee's
31	31	spouse;
32	32	(G) the employee's grandparent or
33	33	step-grandparent;
34	34	(H) the grandparent or step-grandparent of the
35	35	employee's spouse;
36	36	(I) the employee's brother or sister of the whole
37	37	or half blood or by adoption;
38	38	(J) a brother or sister of the whole or half blood
39	39	or by adoption of the employee's spouse;
40	40	(K) the employee's stepbrother or stepsister;
41	41	(L) a stepbrother or stepsister of the employee's
42	42	spouse;
43	43	(M) the employee's foster brother or sister;
44	44	(N) a foster brother or sister of the employee's
45	45	spouse;
46	46	(O) the employee's grandchild or
47	47	step-grandchild;
48	48	(P) a grandchild or step-grandchild of the
49	49	employee's spouse;
50	50	(Q) a person for whom the employee is responsible
51	51	for providing or arranging care; or
52	52	(R) a person related to the employee by
53	53	consanguinity or affinity who lives in the employee's household.
54	54	(5) "Family violence" has the meaning assigned by
55	55	Section 71.004, Family Code.
56	56	(6) "Harassment" means any conduct that constitutes an
57	57	offense under Section 42.07, Penal Code.
58	58	(7) "Health care professional" means an individual who
59	59	is licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized to administer
60	60	health care in this state.
61	61	(8) "Household" has the meaning assigned by Section
62	62	71.005, Family Code.
63	63	(9) "Sexual abuse" means any conduct that constitutes
64	64	an offense under Section 21.02, 21.11, or 25.02, Penal Code.
65	65	(10) "Sexual assault" means any conduct that
66	66	constitutes an offense under Section 22.011 or 22.021, Penal Code.
67	67	(11) "Stalking" means any conduct that constitutes an
68	68	offense under Section 42.072, Penal Code.
69	69	Sec. 83.002. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter does
70	70	not apply to:
71	71	(1) an employee who is entitled to unemployment
72	72	benefits or allowances under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance
73	73	Act (45 U.S.C. Section 351 et seq.); or
74	74	(2) an employer who is an agency of the federal
75	75	government.
76	76	Sec. 83.003. PAID SICK LEAVE REQUIRED. Each employer shall
77	77	provide paid sick leave annually to each employee in this state
78	78	under the terms of this chapter.
79	79	Sec. 83.004. PAID SICK LEAVE ACCRUAL AND CARRYOVER. (a)
80	80	Paid sick leave under this chapter accrues beginning on the date of
81	81	hire at a rate of one hour of paid sick leave for each 30 hours
82	82	worked by an employee.
83	83	(b) Each employee is entitled to carry over unused paid sick
84	84	leave from the current calendar year to the following calendar year
85	85	unless the employer elects to pay an employee for unused sick leave
86	86	at the end of the calendar year and make paid sick leave available
87	87	at the beginning of the next calendar year as provided by Section
88	88	83.005(b).
89	89	(c) Sick leave hours carried over from a previous calendar
90	90	year must be immediately available to the employee in the following
91	91	calendar year.
92	92	Sec. 83.005. ENTITLEMENT TO USE PAID SICK LEAVE;
93	93	LIMITATIONS. (a) An employee is entitled to use accrued paid sick
94	94	leave under this chapter 60 calendar days after the date of hire,
95	95	unless the employer agrees to an earlier date.
96	96	(b) An employer may make immediately available to an
97	97	employee at the beginning of a year, quarter, or other period the
98	98	entire amount of paid sick leave that the employee is expected to
99	99	accrue during the year, quarter, or other period.
100	100	(c) At the employer's discretion, an employer may loan paid
101	101	sick leave time to an employee in advance of accrual by the
102	102	employee.
103	103	(d) Unless an employee policy or collective bargaining
104	104	agreement provides for the payment of accrued fringe benefits on
105	105	termination, an employee is not entitled to payment of unused
106	106	accrued paid sick leave under this chapter on termination of
107	107	employment.
108	108	Sec. 83.006. EMPLOYER COMPLIANCE. An employer is
109	109	considered to be in compliance with this chapter if the employer
110	110	offers one or more other types of paid leave that:
111	111	(1) may be used for the purposes described by this
112	112	chapter; and
113	113	(2) is accrued at a rate equal to or greater than the
114	114	rate described by Section 83.004.
115	115	Sec. 83.007. PAY RATE FOR SICK LEAVE. (a) Each employer
116	116	shall pay each employee for paid sick leave time taken at a pay rate
117	117	equal to the normal hourly wage for that employee.
118	118	(b) For purposes of Subsection (a) and Section 83.004, an
119	119	employee who is exempt from the overtime requirements under the
120	120	federal Fair Labor Standards Act (29 U.S.C. 213(a)(1)), is presumed
121	121	to work 40 hours each week unless the employee's regular workweek is
122	122	less than 40 hours.
123	123	Sec. 83.008. USE OF PAID SICK LEAVE. (a) An employee may
124	124	use paid sick leave accrued under this chapter for:
125	125	(1) the employee's mental or physical illness, injury,
126	126	or health condition;
127	127	(2) the medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of the
128	128	employee's mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition;
129	129	(3) preventative medical care for the employee;
130	130	(4) the employee's family member's mental or physical
131	131	illness, injury, or health condition;
132	132	(5) the medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of the
133	133	employee's family member's mental or physical illness, injury, or
134	134	health condition; or
135	135	(6) preventative medical care for the employee's
136	136	family member.
137	137	(b) An employee who is or whose family member is a victim of
138	138	family violence, sexual assault, sexual abuse, stalking, or
139	139	harassment may use paid sick leave accrued under this chapter:
140	140	(1) for medical care or psychological or other
141	141	counseling for physical or psychological injury or disability;
142	142	(2) to obtain services from a victim services
143	143	organization;
144	144	(3) to relocate due to the family violence, sexual
145	145	assault, sexual abuse, stalking, or harassment; or
146	146	(4) to participate in a legal proceeding or
147	147	court-ordered requirement relating to the family violence, sexual
148	148	assault, sexual abuse, stalking, or harassment.
149	149	(c) An employee may use paid sick leave to attend a meeting
150	150	at a child family member's school.
151	151	(d) An employee may use paid sick leave while the employee's
152	152	place of business or the school or child care facility of the
153	153	employee's child family member is closed due to a public health
154	154	emergency.
155	155	(e) An employee may not use paid sick leave in increments of
156	156	less than one hour.
157	157	(f) An employer may not require an employee to find another
158	158	employee to work during the time the employee intends to use paid
159	159	sick leave as a condition of using paid sick leave.
160	160	Sec. 83.009. NOTICE TO EMPLOYER. (a) If an employee's need
161	161	to use paid sick leave under this chapter is foreseeable, an
162	162	employer may require advance notice of the intention to use paid
163	163	sick leave.
164	164	(b) If an employee's need for paid sick leave is not
165	165	foreseeable, an employer may require the employee to give notice of
166	166	the intention to use paid sick leave under this chapter as soon as
167	167	practicable.
168	168	Sec. 83.010. EMPLOYER RECORDS. An employer shall retain
169	169	records that document the amount of paid sick leave accrued and
170	170	taken by each employee. The records must be maintained for at least
171	171	three years.
172	172	Sec. 83.011. DOCUMENTATION. (a) For paid sick leave of
173	173	three or more consecutive days, an employer may require reasonable
174	174	documentation that the leave is being taken for a purpose permitted
175	175	under this chapter.
176	176	(b) If paid sick leave is taken for a reason described by
177	177	Section 83.008(a), documentation signed by a health care provider
178	178	who is treating the employee or the employee's family member
179	179	indicating the need for the number of days of the leave is
180	180	considered to be reasonable documentation. An employer may not
181	181	require that the documentation explain the nature of the illness,
182	182	injury, or health condition.
183	183	(c) If paid sick leave is taken for a reason described by
184	184	Section 83.008(b), reasonable documentation includes:
185	185	(1) a copy of a court document;
186	186	(2) an incident report or other record maintained by a
187	187	law enforcement agency or official; or
188	188	(3) documentation from a victim's assistance counselor
189	189	from a state or local agency or other entity.
190	190	(d) An employer may not require the documentation under
191	191	Subsection (c) to include details of the family violence, sexual
192	192	assault, sexual abuse, stalking, or harassment, including any
193	193	references to specific acts.
194	194	(e) Documentation and information provided to an employer
195	195	is confidential.
196	196	(f) If an employer requires documentation under this
197	197	section, the employer is responsible for the cost of obtaining
198	198	copies of that documentation.
199	199	Sec. 83.012. NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES. (a) Each employer
200	200	subject to this chapter shall, at the time of hiring, provide notice
201	201	in both English and Spanish to each employee:
202	202	(1) of the employee's entitlement to paid sick leave,
203	203	the amount of paid sick leave provided to employees, and the terms
204	204	under which leave may be used under this chapter;
205	205	(2) that retaliation by the employer against the
206	206	employee for requesting or using paid sick leave to which the
207	207	employee is entitled is prohibited; and
208	208	(3) that the employee has a right to file a complaint
209	209	with the commission or bring a civil action for damages for any
210	210	violation of this chapter.
211	211	(b) An employer may comply with this section by displaying a
212	212	poster in a conspicuous place, accessible to employees, at the
213	213	employer's place of business that contains in both English and
214	214	Spanish the information required by this section.
215	215	(c) The notice under this section must also be provided in a
216	216	language other than English or Spanish if that language is the first
217	217	language spoken by at least 30 percent of the employer's workforce.
218	218	(d) The commission by rule shall prescribe the form and
219	219	content of the notice required under this section.
220	220	(e) The commission may adopt rules to establish additional
221	221	requirements concerning the means by which employers provide notice
222	222	required under this section.
223	223	Sec. 83.013. BREAK IN SERVICE. (a) Termination of an
224	224	employee's employment by an employer, regardless of whether
225	225	voluntary or involuntary, is considered a break in service for
226	226	purposes of this chapter.
227	227	(b) An employee who is subsequently rehired by the employer
228	228	following a break in service:
229	229	(1) begins to accrue paid sick leave under this
230	230	chapter; and
231	231	(2) is not entitled to any unused hours of paid sick
232	232	leave that had accrued before the employee's break in service,
233	233	unless the employee is rehired within 30 days of separation or the
234	234	employer agrees to reinstate some or all of the employee's
235	235	previously accrued paid sick leave.
236	236	Sec. 83.014. TRANSFER OF EMPLOYEE. (a) The transfer of an
237	237	employee to a separate division, entity, or location of the same
238	238	employer is not considered to be a break in service for purposes of
239	239	this chapter.
240	240	(b) Following a transfer described by Subsection (a), the
241	241	transferred employee is entitled to:
242	242	(1) retain all accrued paid sick leave under this
243	243	chapter; and
244	244	(2) immediately access the retained paid sick leave
245	245	time without any waiting period.
246	246	Sec. 83.015. SUCCESSOR EMPLOYER. If an employer succeeds
247	247	or takes the place of an existing employer, employees of the former
248	248	employer who are employed by the successor are entitled to:
249	249	(1) retain all accrued paid sick leave under this
250	250	chapter; and
251	251	(2) immediately access the retained paid sick leave
252	252	time without any waiting period.
253	253	Sec. 83.016. LIMITATIONS OF CHAPTER. This chapter does
254	254	not:
255	255	(1) prevent an employer from providing more paid sick
256	256	leave than is required under this chapter;
257	257	(2) prohibit an employer that provides paid leave in
258	258	addition to the paid sick leave required under this chapter from
259	259	restricting the purposes for which an employee may take that
260	260	additional leave; or
261	261	(3) diminish any rights provided to any employee under
262	262	a collective bargaining agreement.
263	263	Sec. 83.017. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS. A
264	264	collective bargaining agreement may waive the requirements of this
265	265	chapter by clear and unambiguous language within the agreement.
266	266	Sec. 83.018. RETALIATION PROHIBITED. An employer may not
267	267	take retaliatory personnel action or otherwise discriminate
268	268	against an employee because the employee:
269	269	(1) requests or uses paid sick leave in accordance
270	270	with this chapter; or
271	271	(2) files a complaint with the commission alleging the
272	272	employer's violation of this chapter.
273	273	Sec. 83.019. COMPLAINT; HEARING; PENALTY. (a) Any
274	274	employee aggrieved by a violation of this chapter may file a claim
275	275	with the commission in the manner prescribed by Subchapter D,
276	276	Chapter 61.
277	277	(b) On receipt of a complaint, the commission shall
278	278	investigate and dispose of the complaint in the same manner as a
279	279	wage claim under Subchapter D, Chapter 61.
280	280	(c) An employer who is found by the commission, by a
281	281	preponderance of the evidence, to have violated a provision under
282	282	this chapter is liable to the commission for an administrative
283	283	penalty.
284	284	(d) The commission may award the employee all appropriate
285	285	relief, including payment for used paid sick leave, rehiring or
286	286	reinstatement to the employee's previous job, payment of back
287	287	wages, and reestablishment of employee benefits for which the
288	288	employee otherwise would have been eligible if the employee had not
289	289	been subject to retaliatory personnel action or other
290	290	discrimination.
291	291	(e) A party may appeal a final decision of the commission by
292	292	filing suit in district court.
293	293	Sec. 83.020. CIVIL PENALTY. An employer who wilfully
294	294	violates this chapter is liable for a civil penalty not to exceed
295	295	$100 for each violation. The attorney general may bring an action
296	296	to collect a civil penalty under this chapter. Civil penalties
297	297	assessed under this section shall be deposited in the general
298	298	revenue fund.
299	299	Sec. 83.021. CIVIL ACTION BY EMPLOYEE. (a) An employee
300	300	aggrieved by a violation of this chapter may bring a civil action to
301	301	enforce rights protected by this chapter, including an action for
302	302	appropriate injunctive relief, in the district court in the county
303	303	in which the alleged violation occurred or in which the alleged
304	304	violator's residence or principal place of business is located.
305	305	(b) An action under this section must be brought not later
306	306	than the second anniversary of the date of the violation.
307	307	(c) The employer of an employee who prevails in a civil
308	308	action under this section is liable to the affected employee for
309	309	damages equal to the amount of any wages, salary, employment
310	310	benefits, or other compensation denied or lost to the employee by
311	311	reason of the violation or, if wages, salary, employment benefits,
312	312	or other compensation has not been denied or lost, any actual
313	313	monetary losses sustained by the employee as a direct result of the
314	314	violation.
315	315	(d) An employer described by Subsection (c) is also liable
316	316	for equitable relief as appropriate, including reinstatement and
317	317	promotion.
318	318	(e) In addition to any judgment awarded to an employee, the
319	319	court may require the employer to pay reasonable attorney's fees,
320	320	reasonable expert witness fees, and other costs.
321	321	Sec. 83.022. INFORMATION FROM AND OUTREACH BY COMMISSION.
322	322	(a) The commission shall make available to the public on the
323	323	commission's Internet website information regarding:
324	324	(1) the requirements of and the rights and remedies
325	325	under this chapter; and
326	326	(2) best practices for employers with respect to paid
327	327	sick leave.
328	328	(b) The commission shall develop a pamphlet containing the
329	329	information provided under Subsection (a) and make the pamphlet
330	330	available at no cost for distribution at child care facilities,
331	331	health care facilities, family violence shelters, and other
332	332	community centers.
333	333	(c) The commission shall make the information under
334	334	Subsections (a) and (b) available in both English and Spanish.
335	335	(d) The commission shall conduct additional public outreach
336	336	efforts to inform employees and the public about this chapter.
337	337	SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies to
338	338	an employee hired on or after January 1, 2020. For an employee
339	339	hired before January 1, 2020, paid sick leave under Chapter 83,
340	340	Labor Code, as added by this Act, begins to accrue on that date, and
341	341	the employee may begin to use the paid sick leave 90 calendar days
342	342	after that date, unless the employer agrees to an earlier date.
343	343	(b) Chapter 83, Labor Code, as added by this Act, does not
344	344	preempt or override the terms of any collective bargaining
345	345	agreement effective before January 1, 2020.
346	346	SECTION 3. Not later than December 1, 2019, the Texas
347	347	Workforce Commission shall:
348	348	(1) prescribe the form and content of the notice
349	349	required by Section 83.012(b), Labor Code, as added by this Act;
350	350	(2) post on the commission's Internet website the
351	351	information required by Section 83.022(a), Labor Code, as added by
352	352	this Act; and
353	353	(3) adopt rules necessary to implement Chapter 83,
354	354	Labor Code, as added by this Act.
355	355	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.