| 1 | 1 | | 86R6281 SMT-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Hinojosa S.B. No. 1486 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to required rest and meal breaks for certain employees; |
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| 8 | 8 | | authorizing an administrative assessment. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 2, Labor Code, is amended by |
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| 11 | 11 | | adding Chapter 53 to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | CHAPTER 53. REQUIRED REST AND MEAL BREAKS |
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| 13 | 13 | | Sec. 53.001. PAID REST BREAK REQUIRED. (a) An employer |
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| 14 | 14 | | shall provide to each employee a paid rest break of at least 10 |
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| 15 | 15 | | minutes for every 3.5 hours of work. |
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| 16 | 16 | | (b) The employer may not require the paid rest break to be |
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| 17 | 17 | | taken as part of a separate meal break. |
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| 18 | 18 | | Sec. 53.002. MEAL BREAK REQUIRED. An employer shall |
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| 19 | 19 | | provide to each employee a meal break of at least 30 minutes for |
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| 20 | 20 | | every 7.5 hours of work. |
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| 21 | 21 | | Sec. 53.003. EXCEPTION. This chapter does not apply to an |
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| 22 | 22 | | employee who: |
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| 23 | 23 | | (1) is the only employee on duty; or |
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| 24 | 24 | | (2) is covered by a collective bargaining agreement. |
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| 25 | 25 | | Sec. 53.004. NOTICE. (a) Each employer shall notify its |
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| 26 | 26 | | employees of their rights under this chapter by posting an |
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| 27 | 27 | | appropriately worded sign in a prominent place in the employer's |
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| 28 | 28 | | workplace. |
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| 29 | 29 | | (b) The Texas Workforce Commission by rule shall prescribe |
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| 30 | 30 | | the design and content of the sign required under Subsection (a). |
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| 31 | 31 | | Sec. 53.005. COMPLAINT; HEARING; COLLECTION OF ASSESSMENT. |
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| 32 | 32 | | (a) Any employee aggrieved by a violation of this chapter may file |
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| 33 | 33 | | a claim with the commission in the manner prescribed by Subchapter |
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| 34 | 34 | | D, Chapter 61. |
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| 35 | 35 | | (b) On receipt of a complaint, the commission shall |
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| 36 | 36 | | investigate and dispose of the complaint in the same manner as a |
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| 37 | 37 | | wage claim under Subchapter D, Chapter 61. |
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| 38 | 38 | | (c) An employer who is found by the commission, by a |
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| 39 | 39 | | preponderance of the evidence, to have violated this chapter is |
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| 40 | 40 | | liable to the commission for an assessment in an amount equal to the |
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| 41 | 41 | | employee's hourly wage rate multiplied by the number of rest breaks |
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| 42 | 42 | | or meal breaks to which the employee was entitled that were not |
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| 43 | 43 | | provided by the employer. The commission shall remit an assessment |
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| 44 | 44 | | collected under this subsection to the employee. |
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| 45 | 45 | | (d) A complaint under this section must be brought not later |
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| 46 | 46 | | than the 180th day after the date of the violation. |
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| 47 | 47 | | Sec. 53.006. RULES. The commission shall adopt rules as |
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| 48 | 48 | | necessary to implement this chapter. |
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| 49 | 49 | | SECTION 2. Section 203.202(a), Labor Code, is amended to |
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| 50 | 50 | | read as follows: |
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| 51 | 51 | | (a) Money in the special administration fund may be spent in |
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| 52 | 52 | | accordance with this subtitle and may be used: |
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| 53 | 53 | | (1) to pay the cost of reimbursing the benefit account |
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| 54 | 54 | | in the compensation fund for benefits paid to former employees of |
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| 55 | 55 | | this state that are based on service for this state, and the cost of |
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| 56 | 56 | | construction and purchase of buildings and land necessary for that |
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| 57 | 57 | | administration; |
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| 58 | 58 | | (2) in the administration of Chapters 51, 61, [and] |
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| 59 | 59 | | 62, and 53; |
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| 60 | 60 | | (3) for payment of interest on advances from the |
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| 61 | 61 | | federal trust fund; |
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| 62 | 62 | | (4) as a revolving fund to cover expenditures that are |
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| 63 | 63 | | necessary and proper under this subtitle and for which federal |
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| 64 | 64 | | funds have been requested but not received, subject to the charging |
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| 65 | 65 | | of the expenditures against the federal funds when received; |
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| 66 | 66 | | (5) to refund a penalty as provided by Section |
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| 67 | 67 | | 203.203; and |
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| 68 | 68 | | (6) subject to the provisions of Chapter 2107, |
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| 69 | 69 | | Government Code, to pay persons who contract with the commission to |
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| 70 | 70 | | collect delinquent unemployment taxes, penalties, and interest |
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| 71 | 71 | | owed under this subtitle. |
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| 72 | 72 | | SECTION 3. (a) Not later than December 1, 2019, the Texas |
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| 73 | 73 | | Workforce Commission shall: |
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| 74 | 74 | | (1) prescribe the design and content of the sign |
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| 75 | 75 | | required by Section 53.004(b), Labor Code, as added by this Act; and |
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| 76 | 76 | | (2) adopt rules necessary to implement Chapter 53, |
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| 77 | 77 | | Labor Code, as added by this Act. |
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| 78 | 78 | | (b) This section takes effect September 1, 2019. |
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| 79 | 79 | | SECTION 4. Except as provided by Section 3 of this Act, this |
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| 80 | 80 | | Act takes effect January 1, 2020. |
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