Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1250 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R3146 LED-D
2	2	By: Menéndez S.B. No. 1250
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the prohibition of employment discrimination based on
8	8	sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 21.002, Labor Code, is amended by adding
11	11	Subdivisions (9-a) and (13-a) to read as follows:
12	12	(9-a) "Gender identity or expression" means having or
13	13	being perceived as having a gender-related identity, appearance,
14	14	expression, or behavior, regardless of whether that identity,
15	15	appearance, expression, or behavior is different from that commonly
16	16	associated with the individual's actual or perceived sex.
17	17	(13-a) "Sexual orientation" means the actual or
18	18	perceived status of an individual with respect to the individual's
19	19	sexuality.
20	20	SECTION 2. Section 21.051, Labor Code, is amended to read as
21	21	follows:
22	22	Sec. 21.051. DISCRIMINATION BY EMPLOYER. An employer
23	23	commits an unlawful employment practice if because of race, color,
24	24	disability, religion, sex, national origin, [or] age, sexual
25	25	orientation, or gender identity or expression the employer:
26	26	(1) fails or refuses to hire an individual, discharges
27	27	an individual, or discriminates in any other manner against an
28	28	individual in connection with compensation or the terms,
29	29	conditions, or privileges of employment; or
30	30	(2) limits, segregates, or classifies an employee or
31	31	applicant for employment in a manner that would deprive or tend to
32	32	deprive an individual of any employment opportunity or adversely
33	33	affect in any other manner the status of an employee.
34	34	SECTION 3. Section 21.052, Labor Code, is amended to read as
35	35	follows:
36	36	Sec. 21.052. DISCRIMINATION BY EMPLOYMENT AGENCY. An
37	37	employment agency commits an unlawful employment practice if the
38	38	employment agency:
39	39	(1) fails or refuses to refer for employment or
40	40	discriminates in any other manner against an individual because of
41	41	race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, [or] age,
42	42	sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression; or
43	43	(2) classifies or refers an individual for employment
44	44	on the basis of race, color, disability, religion, sex, national
45	45	origin, [or] age, sexual orientation, or gender identity or
46	46	expression.
47	47	SECTION 4. Section 21.053, Labor Code, is amended to read as
48	48	follows:
49	49	Sec. 21.053. DISCRIMINATION BY LABOR ORGANIZATION. A labor
50	50	organization commits an unlawful employment practice if because of
51	51	race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, [or] age,
52	52	sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression the labor
53	53	organization:
54	54	(1) excludes or expels from membership or
55	55	discriminates in any other manner against an individual; or
56	56	(2) limits, segregates, or classifies a member or an
57	57	applicant for membership or classifies or fails or refuses to refer
58	58	for employment an individual in a manner that would:
59	59	(A) deprive or tend to deprive an individual of
60	60	any employment opportunity;
61	61	(B) limit an employment opportunity or adversely
62	62	affect in any other manner the status of an employee or of an
63	63	applicant for employment; or
64	64	(C) cause or attempt to cause an employer to
65	65	violate this subchapter.
66	66	SECTION 5. Section 21.054(a), Labor Code, is amended to
67	67	read as follows:
68	68	(a) Unless a training or retraining opportunity or program
69	69	is provided under an affirmative action plan approved under a
70	70	federal law, rule, or order, an employer, labor organization, or
71	71	joint labor-management committee controlling an apprenticeship,
72	72	on-the-job training, or other training or retraining program
73	73	commits an unlawful employment practice if the employer, labor
74	74	organization, or committee discriminates against an individual
75	75	because of race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin,
76	76	[or] age, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression in
77	77	admission to or participation in the program.
78	78	SECTION 6. Section 21.059(a), Labor Code, is amended to
79	79	read as follows:
80	80	(a) An employer, labor organization, employment agency, or
81	81	joint labor-management committee controlling an apprenticeship,
82	82	on-the-job training, or other training or retraining program
83	83	commits an unlawful employment practice if the employer, labor
84	84	organization, employment agency, or committee prints or publishes
85	85	or causes to be printed or published a notice or advertisement
86	86	relating to employment that:
87	87	(1) indicates a preference, limitation,
88	88	specification, or discrimination based on race, color, disability,
89	89	religion, sex, national origin, [or] age, sexual orientation, or
90	90	gender identity or expression; and
91	91	(2) concerns an employee's status, employment, or
92	92	admission to or membership or participation in a labor union or
93	93	training or retraining program.
94	94	SECTION 7. Section 21.102(c), Labor Code, is amended to
95	95	read as follows:
96	96	(c) This section does not apply to standards of compensation
97	97	or terms, conditions, or privileges of employment that are
98	98	discriminatory on the basis of race, color, disability, religion,
99	99	sex, national origin, [or] age, sexual orientation, or gender
100	100	identity or expression.
101	101	SECTION 8. Section 21.112, Labor Code, is amended to read as
102	102	follows:
103	103	Sec. 21.112. EMPLOYEES AT DIFFERENT LOCATIONS. An employer
104	104	does not commit an unlawful employment practice by applying to
105	105	employees who work in different locations different standards of
106	106	compensation or different terms, conditions, or privileges of
107	107	employment that are not discriminatory on the basis of race, color,
108	108	disability, religion, sex, national origin, [or] age, sexual
109	109	orientation, or gender identity or expression.
110	110	SECTION 9. Section 21.113, Labor Code, is amended to read as
111	111	follows:
112	112	Sec. 21.113. IMBALANCE PLAN NOT REQUIRED. This chapter
113	113	does not require a person subject to this chapter to grant
114	114	preferential treatment to an individual or a group on the basis of
115	115	race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, [or] age,
116	116	sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression because of an
117	117	imbalance between:
118	118	(1) the total number or percentage of persons of that
119	119	individual's or group's race, color, disability, religion, sex,
120	120	national origin, [or] age, sexual orientation, or gender identity
121	121	or expression:
122	122	(A) employed by an employer;
123	123	(B) referred or classified for employment by an
124	124	employment agency or labor organization;
125	125	(C) admitted to membership or classified by a
126	126	labor organization; or
127	127	(D) admitted to or employed in an apprenticeship,
128	128	on-the-job training, or other training or retraining program; and
129	129	(2) the total number or percentage of persons of that
130	130	race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, [or] age,
131	131	sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression in:
132	132	(A) a community, this state, a region, or other
133	133	area; or
134	134	(B) the available work force in a community, this
135	135	state, a region, or other area.
136	136	SECTION 10. Section 21.120(b), Labor Code, is amended to
137	137	read as follows:
138	138	(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to a policy adopted or
139	139	applied with the intent to discriminate because of race, color,
140	140	sex, national origin, religion, age, [or] disability, sexual
141	141	orientation, or gender identity or expression.
142	142	SECTION 11. Section 21.122(a), Labor Code, is amended to
143	143	read as follows:
144	144	(a) An unlawful employment practice based on disparate
145	145	impact is established under this chapter only if:
146	146	(1) a complainant demonstrates that a respondent uses
147	147	a particular employment practice that causes a disparate impact on
148	148	the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, [or]
149	149	disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression
150	150	and the respondent fails to demonstrate that the challenged
151	151	practice is job-related for the position in question and consistent
152	152	with business necessity; or
153	153	(2) the complainant makes the demonstration in
154	154	accordance with federal law as that law existed June 4, 1989, with
155	155	respect to the concept of alternative employment practices, and the
156	156	respondent refuses to adopt such an alternative employment
157	157	practice.
158	158	SECTION 12. Section 21.124, Labor Code, is amended to read
159	159	as follows:
160	160	Sec. 21.124. PROHIBITION AGAINST DISCRIMINATORY USE OF TEST
161	161	SCORES. It is an unlawful employment practice for a respondent, in
162	162	connection with the selection or referral of applicants for
163	163	employment or promotion, to adjust the scores of, use different
164	164	cutoff scores for, or otherwise alter the results of
165	165	employment-related tests on the basis of race, color, sex, national
166	166	origin, religion, age, [or] disability, sexual orientation, or
167	167	gender identity or expression.
168	168	SECTION 13. The heading to Section 21.125, Labor Code, is
169	169	amended to read as follows:
170	170	Sec. 21.125. CLARIFYING PROHIBITION AGAINST IMPERMISSIBLE
171	171	CONSIDERATION OF RACE, COLOR, SEX, NATIONAL ORIGIN, RELIGION, AGE,
172	172	[OR] DISABILITY, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, OR GENDER IDENTITY OR
173	173	EXPRESSION IN EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES.
174	174	SECTION 14. Section 21.125(a), Labor Code, is amended to
175	175	read as follows:
176	176	(a) Except as otherwise provided by this chapter, an
177	177	unlawful employment practice is established when the complainant
178	178	demonstrates that race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age,
179	179	[or] disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity or
180	180	expression was a motivating factor for an employment practice, even
181	181	if other factors also motivated the practice, unless race, color,
182	182	sex, national origin, religion, age, [or] disability, sexual
183	183	orientation, or gender identity or expression is combined with
184	184	objective job-related factors to attain diversity in the employer's
185	185	work force.
186	186	SECTION 15. Section 21.126, Labor Code, is amended to read
187	187	as follows:
188	188	Sec. 21.126. COVERAGE OF PREVIOUSLY EXEMPT EMPLOYEES OF THE
189	189	STATE OR POLITICAL SUBDIVISION OF THE STATE. It is an unlawful
190	190	employment practice for a person elected to public office in this
191	191	state or a political subdivision of this state to discriminate
192	192	because of race, color, sex, national origin, religion, age, [or]
193	193	disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression
194	194	against an individual who is an employee or applicant for
195	195	employment to:
196	196	(1) serve on the elected official's personal staff;
197	197	(2) serve the elected official on a policy-making
198	198	level; or
199	199	(3) serve the elected official as an immediate advisor
200	200	with respect to the exercise of the constitutional or legal powers
201	201	of the office.
202	202	SECTION 16. Section 21.152(a), Labor Code, is amended to
203	203	read as follows:
204	204	(a) A political subdivision or two or more political
205	205	subdivisions acting jointly may create a local commission to:
206	206	(1) promote the purposes of this chapter; and
207	207	(2) secure for all individuals in the jurisdiction of
208	208	each political subdivision freedom from discrimination because of
209	209	race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, [or] age,
210	210	sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression.
211	211	SECTION 17. Section 21.155(a), Labor Code, is amended to
212	212	read as follows:
213	213	(a) The commission [Commission on Human Rights] shall refer
214	214	a complaint concerning discrimination in employment because of
215	215	race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, [or] age,
216	216	sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression that is filed
217	217	with the [that] commission to a local commission with the necessary
218	218	investigatory and conciliatory powers if:
219	219	(1) the complaint has been referred to the commission
220	220	[Commission on Human Rights] by the federal government; or
221	221	(2) jurisdiction over the subject matter of the
222	222	complaint has been deferred to the commission [Commission on Human
223	223	Rights] by the federal government.
224	224	SECTION 18. This Act applies to conduct occurring on or
225	225	after the effective date of this Act. Conduct occurring before that
226	226	date is governed by the law in effect on the date the conduct
227	227	occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that
228	228	purpose.
229	229	SECTION 19. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.