Texas 2021 - 87th 1st C.S.

Texas House Bill HB221 Compare Versions

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

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1	1	87S10194 RDS-F
2	2	By: Reynolds H.B. No. 221
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) "Household" has the meaning assigned by Section
59	59	71.005, Family Code.
60	60	(8) "Sexual abuse" means any conduct that constitutes
61	61	an offense under Section 21.02, 21.11, or 25.02, Penal Code.
62	62	(9) "Sexual assault" means any conduct that
63	63	constitutes an offense under Section 22.011 or 22.021, Penal Code.
64	64	(10) "Stalking" means any conduct that constitutes an
65	65	offense under Section 42.072, Penal Code.
66	66	Sec. 83.002. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter does
67	67	not apply to:
68	68	(1) an employee who is entitled to unemployment
69	69	benefits or allowances under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance
70	70	Act (45 U.S.C. Section 351 et seq.); or
71	71	(2) an employer who is an agency of the federal
72	72	government.
73	73	Sec. 83.003. PAID SICK LEAVE REQUIRED. Each employer shall
74	74	provide paid sick leave annually to each employee in this state
75	75	under the terms of this chapter.
76	76	Sec. 83.004. PAID SICK LEAVE ACCRUAL AND CARRYOVER. (a)
77	77	Paid sick leave under this chapter accrues beginning on the date of
78	78	hire at a rate of one hour of paid sick leave for each 30 hours
79	79	worked by an employee.
80	80	(b) Each employee is entitled to carry over unused paid sick
81	81	leave from the current calendar year to the following calendar year
82	82	unless the employer elects to pay an employee for unused sick leave
83	83	at the end of the calendar year and make paid sick leave available
84	84	at the beginning of the next calendar year as provided by Section
85	85	83.005(b).
86	86	(c) Sick leave hours carried over from a previous calendar
87	87	year must be immediately available to the employee in the following
88	88	calendar year.
89	89	Sec. 83.005. ENTITLEMENT TO USE PAID SICK LEAVE;
90	90	LIMITATIONS. (a) An employee is entitled to use accrued paid sick
91	91	leave under this chapter 60 calendar days after the date of hire,
92	92	unless the employer agrees to an earlier date.
93	93	(b) An employer may make immediately available to an
94	94	employee at the beginning of a year, quarter, or other period the
95	95	entire amount of paid sick leave that the employee is expected to
96	96	accrue during the year, quarter, or other period.
97	97	(c) At the employer's discretion, an employer may loan paid
98	98	sick leave time to an employee in advance of accrual by the
99	99	employee.
100	100	(d) Unless an employee policy or collective bargaining
101	101	agreement provides for the payment of accrued fringe benefits on
102	102	termination, an employee is not entitled to payment of unused
103	103	accrued paid sick leave under this chapter on termination of
104	104	employment.
105	105	Sec. 83.006. EMPLOYER COMPLIANCE. An employer is
106	106	considered to be in compliance with this chapter if the employer
107	107	offers one or more other types of paid leave that:
108	108	(1) may be used for the purposes described by this
109	109	chapter; and
110	110	(2) accrues at a rate equal to or greater than the rate
111	111	described by Section 83.004.
112	112	Sec. 83.007. PAY RATE FOR SICK LEAVE. (a) Each employer
113	113	shall pay each employee for paid sick leave time taken at a pay rate
114	114	equal to the normal hourly wage for that employee.
115	115	(b) For purposes of Subsection (a) and Section 83.004, an
116	116	employee who is exempt from the overtime requirements under Section
117	117	13(a)(1), Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. Section
118	118	213(a)(1)), is presumed to work 40 hours each week unless the
119	119	employee's regular workweek is less than 40 hours.
120	120	Sec. 83.008. USE OF PAID SICK LEAVE. (a) An employee may
121	121	use paid sick leave accrued under this chapter for:
122	122	(1) the employee's mental or physical illness, injury,
123	123	or health condition;
124	124	(2) the medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of the
125	125	employee's mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition;
126	126	(3) preventive medical care for the employee;
127	127	(4) the employee's family member's mental or physical
128	128	illness, injury, or health condition;
129	129	(5) the medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of the
130	130	employee's family member's mental or physical illness, injury, or
131	131	health condition; or
132	132	(6) preventive medical care for the employee's family
133	133	member.
134	134	(b) An employee who is or whose family member is a victim of
135	135	family violence, sexual assault, sexual abuse, stalking, or
136	136	harassment may use paid sick leave accrued under this chapter:
137	137	(1) for medical care or psychological or other
138	138	counseling for physical or psychological injury or disability;
139	139	(2) to obtain services from a victim services
140	140	organization;
141	141	(3) to relocate due to the family violence, sexual
142	142	assault, sexual abuse, stalking, or harassment; or
143	143	(4) to participate in a legal proceeding or
144	144	court-ordered requirement relating to the family violence, sexual
145	145	assault, sexual abuse, stalking, or harassment.
146	146	(c) An employee may use paid sick leave to attend a meeting
147	147	at a child family member's school.
148	148	(d) An employee may use paid sick leave while the employee's
149	149	place of business or the school or child care facility of the
150	150	employee's child family member is closed due to a public health
151	151	emergency.
152	152	(e) An employee may not use paid sick leave in increments of
153	153	less than one hour.
154	154	(f) An employer may not require an employee to find another
155	155	employee to work during the time the employee intends to use paid
156	156	sick leave as a condition of using paid sick leave.
157	157	Sec. 83.009. NOTICE TO EMPLOYER. (a) If an employee's need
158	158	to use paid sick leave under this chapter is foreseeable, an
159	159	employer may require advance notice of the intention to use paid
160	160	sick leave.
161	161	(b) If an employee's need for paid sick leave is not
162	162	foreseeable, an employer may require the employee to give notice of
163	163	the employee's intention to use paid sick leave under this chapter
164	164	as soon as practicable.
165	165	Sec. 83.010. EMPLOYER RECORDS. An employer shall retain
166	166	records that document the amount of paid sick leave accrued and
167	167	taken by each employee. The records must be maintained for at least
168	168	three years.
169	169	Sec. 83.011. DOCUMENTATION. (a) For paid sick leave of
170	170	three or more consecutive days, an employer may require reasonable
171	171	documentation that the leave is being taken for a purpose permitted
172	172	under this chapter.
173	173	(b) If paid sick leave is taken for a reason described by
174	174	Section 83.008(a), documentation signed by a health care provider
175	175	who is treating the employee or the employee's family member
176	176	indicating the need for the number of days of the leave is
177	177	considered to be reasonable documentation. An employer may not
178	178	require that the documentation explain the nature of the illness,
179	179	injury, or health condition.
180	180	(c) If paid sick leave is taken for a reason described by
181	181	Section 83.008(b), reasonable documentation includes:
182	182	(1) a copy of a court document;
183	183	(2) an incident report or other record maintained by a
184	184	law enforcement agency or official; or
185	185	(3) documentation from a victim's assistance counselor
186	186	from a state or local agency or other entity.
187	187	(d) An employer may not require the documentation under
188	188	Subsection (c) to include details of the family violence, sexual
189	189	assault, sexual abuse, stalking, or harassment, including any
190	190	references to specific acts.
191	191	(e) Documentation and information provided to an employer
192	192	are confidential.
193	193	(f) If an employer requires documentation under this
194	194	section, the employer is responsible for the cost of obtaining
195	195	copies of that documentation.
196	196	Sec. 83.012. NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES. (a) Each employer
197	197	subject to this chapter shall, at the time of hiring, provide notice
198	198	in both English and Spanish to each employee:
199	199	(1) of the employee's entitlement to paid sick leave,
200	200	the amount of paid sick leave provided to employees, and the terms
201	201	under which leave may be used under this chapter;
202	202	(2) that retaliation by the employer against the
203	203	employee for requesting or using paid sick leave to which the
204	204	employee is entitled is prohibited; and
205	205	(3) that the employee has a right to file a complaint
206	206	with the commission or bring a civil action for damages for any
207	207	violation of this chapter.
208	208	(b) An employer may comply with this section by displaying a
209	209	poster in a conspicuous place, accessible to employees, at the
210	210	employer's place of business that contains in both English and
211	211	Spanish the information required by this section.
212	212	(c) The notice under this section must also be provided in a
213	213	language other than English or Spanish if that language is the first
214	214	language spoken by at least 30 percent of the employer's workforce.
215	215	(d) The commission by rule shall prescribe the form and
216	216	content of the notice required under this section.
217	217	(e) The commission may adopt rules to establish additional
218	218	requirements concerning the means by which employers provide notice
219	219	required under this section.
220	220	Sec. 83.013. BREAK IN SERVICE. (a) Termination of an
221	221	employee's employment by an employer, regardless of whether
222	222	voluntary or involuntary, is considered a break in service for
223	223	purposes of this chapter.
224	224	(b) An employee who is subsequently rehired by the employer
225	225	following a break in service:
226	226	(1) begins to accrue paid sick leave under this
227	227	chapter; and
228	228	(2) is not entitled to any unused hours of paid sick
229	229	leave that had accrued before the employee's break in service,
230	230	unless the employee is rehired within 30 days of separation or the
231	231	employer agrees to reinstate some or all of the employee's
232	232	previously accrued paid sick leave.
233	233	Sec. 83.014. TRANSFER OF EMPLOYEE. (a) The transfer of an
234	234	employee to a separate division, entity, or location of the same
235	235	employer is not considered to be a break in service for purposes of
236	236	this chapter.
237	237	(b) Following a transfer described by Subsection (a), the
238	238	transferred employee is entitled to:
239	239	(1) retain all accrued paid sick leave under this
240	240	chapter; and
241	241	(2) immediately access the retained paid sick leave
242	242	time without any waiting period, except that the employee remains
243	243	subject to any remaining period of the initial waiting period
244	244	described by Section 83.005(a), if applicable.
245	245	Sec. 83.015. SUCCESSOR EMPLOYER. If an employer succeeds
246	246	or takes the place of an existing employer, employees of the former
247	247	employer who are employed by the successor are entitled to:
248	248	(1) retain all accrued paid sick leave under this
249	249	chapter; and
250	250	(2) immediately access the retained paid sick leave
251	251	time without any waiting period.
252	252	Sec. 83.016. LIMITATIONS OF CHAPTER. This chapter does
253	253	not:
254	254	(1) prevent an employer from providing more paid sick
255	255	leave than is required under this chapter;
256	256	(2) prohibit an employer that provides paid leave in
257	257	addition to the paid sick leave required under this chapter from
258	258	restricting the purposes for which an employee may take that
259	259	additional leave; or
260	260	(3) diminish any rights provided to any employee under
261	261	a collective bargaining agreement.
262	262	Sec. 83.017. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT. A collective
263	263	bargaining agreement may waive the requirements of this chapter by
264	264	clear and unambiguous language within the agreement.
265	265	Sec. 83.018. RETALIATION PROHIBITED. An employer may not
266	266	take retaliatory personnel action or otherwise discriminate
267	267	against an employee because the employee:
268	268	(1) requests or uses paid sick leave in accordance
269	269	with this chapter; or
270	270	(2) files a complaint with the commission alleging the
271	271	employer's violation of this chapter.
272	272	Sec. 83.019. COMPLAINT; HEARING; PENALTY. (a) Any
273	273	employee aggrieved by a violation of this chapter may file a claim
274	274	with the commission in the manner prescribed by Subchapter D,
275	275	Chapter 61.
276	276	(b) On receipt of a complaint, the commission shall
277	277	investigate and dispose of the complaint in the same manner as a
278	278	wage claim under Subchapter D, Chapter 61.
279	279	(c) An employer who is found by the commission, by a
280	280	preponderance of the evidence, to have violated a provision under
281	281	this chapter is liable to the commission for an administrative
282	282	penalty.
283	283	(d) The commission may award the employee all appropriate
284	284	relief, including payment for used paid sick leave, rehiring or
285	285	reinstatement to the employee's previous job, payment of back
286	286	wages, and reestablishment of employee benefits for which the
287	287	employee otherwise would have been eligible if the employee had not
288	288	been subject to retaliatory personnel action or other
289	289	discrimination.
290	290	(e) A party may appeal a final decision of the commission by
291	291	filing suit in district court.
292	292	Sec. 83.020. CIVIL PENALTY. An employer who wilfully
293	293	violates this chapter is liable for a civil penalty not to exceed
294	294	$100 for each violation. The attorney general may bring an action
295	295	to collect a civil penalty under this chapter. Civil penalties
296	296	assessed under this section shall be deposited in the general
297	297	revenue fund.
298	298	Sec. 83.021. CIVIL ACTION BY EMPLOYEE. (a) An employee
299	299	aggrieved by a violation of this chapter may bring a civil action to
300	300	enforce rights protected by this chapter, including an action for
301	301	appropriate injunctive relief, in the district court in the county
302	302	in which the alleged violation occurred or in which the alleged
303	303	violator's residence or principal place of business is located.
304	304	(b) An action under this section must be brought not later
305	305	than the second anniversary of the date of the violation.
306	306	(c) The employer of an employee who prevails in a civil
307	307	action under this section is liable to the affected employee for
308	308	damages equal to the amount of any wages, salary, employment
309	309	benefits, or other compensation denied or lost to the employee by
310	310	reason of the violation or, if wages, salary, employment benefits,
311	311	or other compensation has not been denied or lost, any actual
312	312	monetary losses sustained by the employee as a direct result of the
313	313	violation.
314	314	(d) An employer described by Subsection (c) is also liable
315	315	for equitable relief as appropriate, including reinstatement and
316	316	promotion.
317	317	(e) In addition to any judgment awarded to an employee, the
318	318	court may require the employer to pay reasonable attorney's fees,
319	319	reasonable expert witness fees, and other costs.
320	320	Sec. 83.022. INFORMATION FROM AND OUTREACH BY COMMISSION.
321	321	(a) The commission shall make available to the public on the
322	322	commission's Internet website information regarding:
323	323	(1) the requirements of and the rights and remedies
324	324	under this chapter; and
325	325	(2) best practices for employers with respect to paid
326	326	sick leave.
327	327	(b) The commission shall develop a pamphlet containing the
328	328	information provided under Subsection (a) and make the pamphlet
329	329	available at no cost for distribution at child care facilities,
330	330	health care facilities, family violence shelters, and other
331	331	community centers.
332	332	(c) The commission shall make the information under
333	333	Subsections (a) and (b) available in both English and Spanish.
334	334	(d) The commission shall conduct additional public outreach
335	335	efforts to inform employees and the public about this chapter.
336	336	SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies to
337	337	an employee hired on or after March 1, 2022. For an employee hired
338	338	before March 1, 2022, paid sick leave under Chapter 83, Labor Code,
339	339	as added by this Act, begins to accrue on that date, and the
340	340	employee may begin to use the paid sick leave 90 calendar days after
341	341	that date, unless the employer agrees to an earlier date.
342	342	(b) Chapter 83, Labor Code, as added by this Act, does not
343	343	preempt or override the terms of any collective bargaining
344	344	agreement effective before March 1, 2022.
345	345	SECTION 3. Not later than February 1, 2022, the Texas
346	346	Workforce Commission shall:
347	347	(1) prescribe the form and content of the notice
348	348	required by Section 83.012(a), Labor Code, as added by this Act;
349	349	(2) post on the commission's Internet website the
350	350	information required by Section 83.022(a), Labor Code, as added by
351	351	this Act; and
352	352	(3) adopt rules necessary to implement Chapter 83,
353	353	Labor Code, as added by this Act.
354	354	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the
355	355	last day of the legislative session.