Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1298 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Bernal H.B. No. 1298
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to requiring certain employers to provide paid sick leave
7	7	to employees; providing administrative penalties.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Subtitle D, Title 2, Labor Code, is amended by
10	10	adding Chapter 83 to read as follows:
11	11	CHAPTER 83. EARNED PAID SICK LEAVE
12	12	Sec. 83.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
13	13	(1) "Commission" means the Texas Workforce
14	14	Commission.
15	15	(2) "Employee" means a person employed by an employer
16	16	for compensation who works at least 80 hours in a calendar year. The
17	17	term includes a person who works through an employment agency, as
18	18	defined by Section 21.002, and a temporary help firm, as defined by
19	19	Section 201.011. The term does not include a person who is:
20	20	(A) an unpaid volunteer; or
21	21	(B) an independent contractor.
22	22	(3) "Employer" means a person who is engaged in an
23	23	industry affecting commerce and who employs one or more employees.
24	24	(4) "Family member" means:
25	25	(A) a person related to an employee within the
26	26	third degree by consanguinity or affinity, as described by
27	27	Subchapter B, Chapter 573, Government Code; or
28	28	(B) a person related to an employee by
29	29	consanguinity or affinity who lives in the employee's household.
30	30	(5) "Family violence" has the meaning assigned by
31	31	Section 71.004, Family Code.
32	32	(6) "Household" has the meaning assigned by Section
33	33	71.005, Family Code.
34	34	(7) "Sexual assault" means any conduct that
35	35	constitutes an offense under Section 22.011 or 22.021, Penal Code.
36	36	(8) "Stalking" means any conduct that constitutes an
37	37	offense under Section 42.072, Penal Code.
38	38	Sec. 83.002. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter does
39	39	not apply to an employer who is:
40	40	(1) a state agency or political subdivision, as those
41	41	terms are defined by Section 21.002; or
42	42	(2) an agency of or a corporation wholly owned by the
43	43	federal government.
44	44	Sec. 83.003. PAID SICK LEAVE REQUIRED. Each employer shall
45	45	provide paid sick leave annually to each employee in this state
46	46	under the terms of this chapter.
47	47	Sec. 83.004. PAID SICK LEAVE ACCRUAL AND CARRYOVER. (a)
48	48	Paid sick leave under this chapter accrues beginning on the date of
49	49	hire at a rate of one hour of paid sick leave for each 30 hours
50	50	worked by an employee.
51	51	(b) An employer may not limit the maximum number of hours of
52	52	paid sick leave an employee may accrue to less than:
53	53	(1) 64 hours per calendar year, if the employer
54	54	employed at least 15 employees, not including family members, at
55	55	any time during the preceding calendar year; or
56	56	(2) 48 hours per calendar year, if the employer
57	57	employed fewer than 15 employees, not including family members, at
58	58	any time during the preceding calendar year.
59	59	(c) Each employee is entitled to carry over not more than
60	60	the number of hours specified in Subsection (b) of unused paid sick
61	61	leave from the current calendar year to the following calendar year
62	62	unless the employer elects to make paid sick leave available at the
63	63	beginning of a year as provided by Section 83.005(c).
64	64	(d) Sick leave hours carried over from a previous calendar
65	65	year must be immediately available to the employee in the following
66	66	calendar year.
67	67	Sec. 83.005. ENTITLEMENT TO USE PAID SICK LEAVE;
68	68	LIMITATIONS. (a) An employee is entitled to use accrued paid sick
69	69	leave under this chapter 60 calendar days after the date of hire,
70	70	unless the employer agrees to an earlier date.
71	71	(b) An employee is not entitled to use accrued paid sick
72	72	leave under this chapter on more than eight calendar days in any
73	73	calendar year.
74	74	(c) An employer may make immediately available to an
75	75	employee at the beginning of a year, quarter, or other period the
76	76	entire amount of paid sick leave that the employee is expected to
77	77	accrue during the year, quarter, or other period.
78	78	(d) At the employer's discretion, an employer may loan paid
79	79	sick leave time to an employee in advance of accrual by the
80	80	employee.
81	81	(e) On the mutual consent of the employee and employer, an
82	82	employee who chooses to work additional hours or shifts during the
83	83	same or following pay period, instead of hours or shifts missed,
84	84	does not use accrued paid sick leave. An employer may establish
85	85	incentives to encourage employees to work additional hours or
86	86	shifts as provided by this subsection instead of using accrued paid
87	87	sick leave.
88	88	(f) Unless an employee policy or collective bargaining
89	89	agreement provides for the payment of accrued fringe benefits on
90	90	termination, an employee is not entitled to payment of unused
91	91	accrued paid sick leave under this chapter on termination of
92	92	employment.
93	93	Sec. 83.006. PAY RATE FOR SICK LEAVE. Each employer shall
94	94	pay each employee for paid sick leave taken at a pay rate equal to
95	95	the normal hourly wage for that employee. The employee's normal
96	96	hourly wage may not be less than the amount required by Section
97	97	62.051.
98	98	Sec. 83.007. USE OF PAID SICK LEAVE. (a) An employee may
99	99	use paid sick leave accrued under this chapter if:
100	100	(1) the employee is ill, is injured, or has an
101	101	appointment with a health care provider;
102	102	(2) it is necessary for the employee to:
103	103	(A) care for a family member who is ill or
104	104	injured; or
105	105	(B) accompany a family member to an appointment
106	106	with a health care provider; or
107	107	(3) the employee or the employee's family member is a
108	108	victim of family violence, sexual assault, or stalking and the
109	109	employee or the family member needs to:
110	110	(A) receive medical attention;
111	111	(B) relocate the employee's or the family
112	112	member's residence;
113	113	(C) receive services from a victim services
114	114	organization; or
115	115	(D) participate in a legal proceeding or
116	116	court-ordered requirement relating to the family violence, sexual
117	117	assault, or stalking.
118	118	(b) An employer may adopt a reasonable procedure to verify
119	119	that the use of paid sick leave by an employee who uses the leave for
120	120	more than three consecutive work days meets the requirements of
121	121	this section.
122	122	(c) An employer may not require an employee to find another
123	123	employee to work during the time the employee intends to use paid
124	124	sick leave as a condition of using paid sick leave.
125	125	Sec. 83.008. NOTICE TO EMPLOYER. (a) If an employee's need
126	126	to use paid sick leave under this chapter is foreseeable, an
127	127	employer may require advance notice of the intention to use paid
128	128	sick leave.
129	129	(b) If an employee's need for paid sick leave is not
130	130	foreseeable, an employer may require the employee to give notice of
131	131	the intention to use paid sick leave under this chapter as soon as
132	132	practicable.
133	133	Sec. 83.009. EMPLOYER STATEMENT. (a) At least monthly, an
134	134	employer shall provide to each employee an electronic or written
135	135	statement that includes an accounting of the paid sick leave taken
136	136	by the employee and the current amount of paid sick leave available
137	137	to the employee.
138	138	(b) An employer shall retain records that document the
139	139	amount of paid sick leave accrued and taken by each employee. The
140	140	records must be maintained for the applicable period of time
141	141	required by 29 C.F.R. Part 516, Subpart A.
142	142	(c) This section does not create a new requirement for a
143	143	certified payroll.
144	144	Sec. 83.010. NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES. (a) An employer shall
145	145	include in the employer's employee handbook a notice containing an
146	146	employee's rights and remedies relating to paid sick leave required
147	147	by this chapter.
148	148	(b) This section does not require an employer to create an
149	149	employee handbook.
150	150	(c) An employer shall display in a conspicuous place,
151	151	accessible to employees, at the employer's place of business a
152	152	notice that describes the requirements of this chapter. The
153	153	commission by rule shall prescribe the form and content of the
154	154	notice.
155	155	Sec. 83.011. EMPLOYER COMPLIANCE. An employer is in
156	156	compliance with this chapter if the employer offers paid leave
157	157	that:
158	158	(1) may be used for the purposes described by Section
159	159	83.007; and
160	160	(2) is accrued at a rate equal to or greater than the
161	161	rate described by Section 83.004.
162	162	Sec. 83.012. BREAK IN SERVICE. (a) Termination of an
163	163	employee's employment by an employer, regardless of whether
164	164	voluntary or involuntary, is considered a break in service for
165	165	purposes of this chapter.
166	166	(b) An employee who is subsequently rehired by the employer
167	167	following a break in service:
168	168	(1) begins to accrue paid sick leave under this
169	169	chapter; and
170	170	(2) is not entitled to any unused hours of paid sick
171	171	leave that accrued before the employee's break in service, unless
172	172	the employee is rehired within six months of separation or the
173	173	employer agrees to reinstate all of the employee's previously
174	174	accrued paid sick leave.
175	175	Sec. 83.013. TRANSFER OF EMPLOYEE. (a) The transfer of an
176	176	employee to a separate division, entity, or location of the same
177	177	employer is not considered to be a break in service for purposes of
178	178	this chapter.
179	179	(b) Following a transfer described by Subsection (a), the
180	180	transferred employee is entitled to:
181	181	(1) retain all accrued paid sick leave under this
182	182	chapter; and
183	183	(2) immediately access the retained paid sick leave
184	184	without any waiting period.
185	185	Sec. 83.014. SUCCESSOR EMPLOYER. If an employer succeeds
186	186	or takes the place of an existing employer, employees of the former
187	187	employer who are employed by the successor are entitled to:
188	188	(1) retain all accrued paid sick leave under this
189	189	chapter; and
190	190	(2) immediately access the retained paid sick leave
191	191	without any waiting period.
192	192	Sec. 83.015. LIMITATIONS OF CHAPTER. This chapter does
193	193	not:
194	194	(1) prevent an employer from providing more paid sick
195	195	leave than is required under this chapter;
196	196	(2) prohibit an employer that provides paid leave in
197	197	addition to the paid sick leave required under this chapter from
198	198	restricting the purposes for which an employee may take that
199	199	additional leave; or
200	200	(3) diminish any rights provided to any employee under
201	201	a collective bargaining agreement.
202	202	Sec. 83.016. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS. A
203	203	collective bargaining agreement may waive the requirements of this
204	204	chapter by clear and unambiguous language within the agreement.
205	205	Sec. 83.017. RETALIATION PROHIBITED. An employer may not
206	206	take retaliatory personnel action or otherwise discriminate
207	207	against an employee because the employee:
208	208	(1) requests or uses paid sick leave in accordance
209	209	with this chapter; or
210	210	(2) files a complaint with the commission alleging the
211	211	employer's violation of this chapter.
212	212	Sec. 83.018. COMPLAINT; HEARING; ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY.
213	213	(a) Any employee aggrieved by a violation of this chapter may file
214	214	a claim with the commission in the manner prescribed by Subchapter
215	215	D, Chapter 61.
216	216	(b) On receipt of a complaint, the commission shall
217	217	investigate and dispose of the complaint in the same manner as a
218	218	wage claim under Subchapter D, Chapter 61.
219	219	(c) An employer who is found by the commission, by a
220	220	preponderance of the evidence, to have violated Section 83.017 is
221	221	liable to the commission for an administrative penalty of $500 for
222	222	each violation.
223	223	(d) An employer who is found by the commission, by a
224	224	preponderance of the evidence, to have violated a provision under
225	225	this chapter other than Section 83.017 is liable to the commission
226	226	for an administrative penalty of not more than $100 for each
227	227	violation.
228	228	(e) If the commission finds that an employer violated
229	229	Section 83.017, the commission shall award to the employee all
230	230	appropriate relief, including payment for used paid sick leave,
231	231	rehiring or reinstatement to the employee's previous job, payment
232	232	of back wages, and reestablishment of employee benefits for which
233	233	the employee otherwise would have been eligible if the employee had
234	234	not been subject to retaliatory personnel action or other
235	235	discrimination.
236	236	(f) A complaint under this section must be brought not later
237	237	than the second anniversary of the date of the violation.
238	238	Sec. 83.019. INFORMATION FROM AND OUTREACH BY COMMISSION.
239	239	(a) The commission shall make available to the public on the
240	240	commission's Internet website information regarding:
241	241	(1) the requirements of and the rights and remedies
242	242	under this chapter; and
243	243	(2) best practices for employers with respect to paid
244	244	sick leave.
245	245	(b) The commission may conduct additional public outreach
246	246	efforts to inform employees and the public about this chapter.
247	247	SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies to
248	248	an employee hired on or after January 1, 2023. For an employee hired
249	249	before January 1, 2023, paid sick leave under Chapter 83, Labor
250	250	Code, as added by this Act, begins to accrue on that date, and the
251	251	employee may begin to use the paid sick leave 90 calendar days after
252	252	that date, unless the employer agrees to an earlier date.
253	253	(b) Chapter 83, Labor Code, as added by this Act, does not
254	254	preempt or override the terms of any collective bargaining
255	255	agreement effective before January 1, 2023.
256	256	SECTION 3. Not later than September 1, 2022, the Texas
257	257	Workforce Commission shall:
258	258	(1) prescribe the form and content of the notice
259	259	required by Section 83.010(c), Labor Code, as added by this Act;
260	260	(2) post on the commission's Internet website the
261	261	information required by Section 83.019(a), Labor Code, as added by
262	262	this Act; and
263	263	(3) adopt rules necessary to implement Chapter 83,
264	264	Labor Code, as added by this Act.
265	265	SECTION 4. Except as provided by Section 3 of this Act, this
266	266	Act takes effect January 1, 2023.