Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB893 Compare Versions

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1	1	88R3668 RDS-F
2	2	By: Reynolds H.B. No. 893
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 an individual employed by an
17	17	employer.
18	18	(3) "Employer" means a person who is engaged in an
19	19	industry affecting commerce and who employs one or more employees.
20	20	(4) "Family member" means:
21	21	(A) the employee's spouse;
22	22	(B) the employee's natural child, adopted child,
23	23	stepchild, foster child, or legal ward;
24	24	(C) a child to whom the employee stands in loco
25	25	parentis;
26	26	(D) an individual to whom the employee stood in
27	27	loco parentis when the individual was a child;
28	28	(E) the employee's parent, foster parent,
29	29	stepparent, adoptive parent, or legal guardian or conservator;
30	30	(F) a parent, foster parent, stepparent,
31	31	adoptive parent, or legal guardian or conservator of the employee's
32	32	spouse;
33	33	(G) the employee's grandparent or
34	34	step-grandparent;
35	35	(H) the grandparent or step-grandparent of the
36	36	employee's spouse;
37	37	(I) the employee's brother or sister of the whole
38	38	or half blood or by adoption;
39	39	(J) a brother or sister of the whole or half blood
40	40	or by adoption of the employee's spouse;
41	41	(K) the employee's stepbrother or stepsister;
42	42	(L) a stepbrother or stepsister of the employee's
43	43	spouse;
44	44	(M) the employee's foster brother or sister;
45	45	(N) a foster brother or sister of the employee's
46	46	spouse;
47	47	(O) the employee's grandchild or
48	48	step-grandchild;
49	49	(P) a grandchild or step-grandchild of the
50	50	employee's spouse;
51	51	(Q) an individual for whom the employee is
52	52	responsible for providing or arranging care; or
53	53	(R) an individual related to the employee by
54	54	consanguinity or affinity who lives in the employee's household.
55	55	(5) "Family violence" has the meaning assigned by
56	56	Section 71.004, Family Code.
57	57	(6) "Harassment" means any conduct that constitutes an
58	58	offense under Section 42.07, Penal Code.
59	59	(7) "Health care professional" means an individual who
60	60	is licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized to administer
61	61	health care in this state.
62	62	(8) "Household" has the meaning assigned by Section
63	63	71.005, Family Code.
64	64	(9) "Sexual abuse" means any conduct that constitutes
65	65	an offense under Section 21.02, 21.11, or 25.02, Penal Code.
66	66	(10) "Sexual assault" means any conduct that
67	67	constitutes an offense under Section 22.011 or 22.021, Penal Code.
68	68	(11) "Stalking" means any conduct that constitutes an
69	69	offense under Section 42.072, Penal Code.
70	70	Sec. 83.002. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter does
71	71	not apply to:
72	72	(1) an employee who is entitled to unemployment
73	73	benefits or allowances under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance
74	74	Act (45 U.S.C. Section 351 et seq.); or
75	75	(2) an employer who is an agency of the federal
76	76	government.
77	77	Sec. 83.003. PAID SICK LEAVE REQUIRED. Each employer shall
78	78	provide paid sick leave annually to each employee in this state
79	79	under the terms of this chapter.
80	80	Sec. 83.004. PAID SICK LEAVE ACCRUAL AND CARRYOVER. (a)
81	81	Paid sick leave under this chapter accrues beginning on the date of
82	82	hire at a rate of one hour of paid sick leave for each 30 hours
83	83	worked by an employee.
84	84	(b) Each employee is entitled to carry over unused paid sick
85	85	leave from the current calendar year to the following calendar year
86	86	unless the employer elects to pay an employee for unused sick leave
87	87	at the end of the calendar year and make paid sick leave available
88	88	at the beginning of the next calendar year as provided by Section
89	89	83.005(b).
90	90	(c) Sick leave hours carried over from a previous calendar
91	91	year must be immediately available to the employee in the following
92	92	calendar year.
93	93	Sec. 83.005. ENTITLEMENT TO USE PAID SICK LEAVE;
94	94	LIMITATIONS. (a) An employee is entitled to use accrued paid sick
95	95	leave under this chapter 60 calendar days after the date of hire,
96	96	unless the employer agrees to an earlier date.
97	97	(b) An employer may make immediately available to an
98	98	employee at the beginning of a year, quarter, or other period the
99	99	entire amount of paid sick leave that the employee is expected to
100	100	accrue during the year, quarter, or other period.
101	101	(c) At the employer's discretion, an employer may loan paid
102	102	sick leave time to an employee in advance of accrual by the
103	103	employee.
104	104	(d) Unless an employee policy or collective bargaining
105	105	agreement provides for the payment of accrued fringe benefits on
106	106	termination, an employee is not entitled to payment of unused
107	107	accrued paid sick leave under this chapter on termination of
108	108	employment.
109	109	Sec. 83.006. EMPLOYER COMPLIANCE. An employer is
110	110	considered to be in compliance with this chapter if the employer
111	111	offers one or more other types of paid leave that:
112	112	(1) may be used for the purposes described by this
113	113	chapter; and
114	114	(2) accrues at a rate equal to or greater than the rate
115	115	described by Section 83.004.
116	116	Sec. 83.007. PAY RATE FOR SICK LEAVE. (a) Each employer
117	117	shall pay each employee for paid sick leave time taken at a pay rate
118	118	equal to the normal hourly wage for that employee.
119	119	(b) For purposes of Subsection (a) and Section 83.004, an
120	120	employee who is exempt from the overtime requirements under Section
121	121	13(a)(1), Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. Section
122	122	213(a)(1)), is presumed to work 40 hours each week unless the
123	123	employee's regular workweek is less than 40 hours.
124	124	Sec. 83.008. USE OF PAID SICK LEAVE. (a) An employee may
125	125	use paid sick leave accrued under this chapter for:
126	126	(1) the employee's mental or physical illness, injury,
127	127	or health condition;
128	128	(2) the medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of the
129	129	employee's mental or physical illness, injury, or health condition;
130	130	(3) preventative medical care for the employee;
131	131	(4) the employee's family member's mental or physical
132	132	illness, injury, or health condition;
133	133	(5) the medical diagnosis, care, or treatment of the
134	134	employee's family member's mental or physical illness, injury, or
135	135	health condition; or
136	136	(6) preventative medical care for the employee's
137	137	family member.
138	138	(b) An employee who is or whose family member is a victim of
139	139	family violence, sexual assault, sexual abuse, stalking, or
140	140	harassment may use paid sick leave accrued under this chapter:
141	141	(1) for medical care or psychological or other
142	142	counseling for physical or psychological injury or disability;
143	143	(2) to obtain services from a victim services
144	144	organization;
145	145	(3) to relocate due to the family violence, sexual
146	146	assault, sexual abuse, stalking, or harassment; or
147	147	(4) to participate in a legal proceeding or
148	148	court-ordered requirement relating to the family violence, sexual
149	149	assault, sexual abuse, stalking, or harassment.
150	150	(c) An employee may use paid sick leave to attend a meeting
151	151	at a child family member's school.
152	152	(d) An employee may use paid sick leave while the employee's
153	153	place of business or the school or child-care facility of the
154	154	employee's child family member is closed due to a public health
155	155	emergency.
156	156	(e) An employee may not use paid sick leave in increments of
157	157	less than one hour.
158	158	(f) An employer may not require an employee to find another
159	159	employee to work during the time the employee intends to use paid
160	160	sick leave as a condition of using paid sick leave.
161	161	Sec. 83.009. NOTICE TO EMPLOYER. (a) If an employee's need
162	162	to use paid sick leave under this chapter is foreseeable, an
163	163	employer may require advance notice of the intention to use paid
164	164	sick leave.
165	165	(b) If an employee's need for paid sick leave is not
166	166	foreseeable, an employer may require the employee to give notice of
167	167	the employee's intention to use paid sick leave under this chapter
168	168	as soon as practicable.
169	169	Sec. 83.010. EMPLOYER RECORDS. An employer shall retain
170	170	records that document the amount of paid sick leave accrued and
171	171	taken by each employee. The records must be maintained for at least
172	172	three years.
173	173	Sec. 83.011. DOCUMENTATION. (a) For paid sick leave of
174	174	three or more consecutive days, an employer may require reasonable
175	175	documentation that the leave is being taken for a purpose permitted
176	176	under this chapter.
177	177	(b) If paid sick leave is taken for a reason described by
178	178	Section 83.008(a), documentation signed by a health care provider
179	179	who is treating the employee or the employee's family member
180	180	indicating the need for the number of days of the leave is
181	181	considered to be reasonable documentation. An employer may not
182	182	require that the documentation explain the nature of the illness,
183	183	injury, or health condition.
184	184	(c) If paid sick leave is taken for a reason described by
185	185	Section 83.008(b), reasonable documentation includes:
186	186	(1) a copy of a court document;
187	187	(2) an incident report or other record maintained by a
188	188	law enforcement agency or official; or
189	189	(3) documentation from a victim's assistance counselor
190	190	from a state or local agency or other entity.
191	191	(d) An employer may not require the documentation under
192	192	Subsection (c) to include details of the family violence, sexual
193	193	assault, sexual abuse, stalking, or harassment, including any
194	194	references to specific acts.
195	195	(e) Documentation and information provided to an employer
196	196	is confidential.
197	197	(f) If an employer requires documentation under this
198	198	section, the employer is responsible for the cost of obtaining
199	199	copies of that documentation.
200	200	Sec. 83.012. NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES. (a) Each employer
201	201	subject to this chapter shall, at the time of hiring, provide notice
202	202	in both English and Spanish to each employee:
203	203	(1) of the employee's entitlement to paid sick leave,
204	204	the amount of paid sick leave provided to employees, and the terms
205	205	under which leave may be used under this chapter;
206	206	(2) that retaliation by the employer against the
207	207	employee for requesting or using paid sick leave to which the
208	208	employee is entitled is prohibited; and
209	209	(3) that the employee has a right to file a complaint
210	210	with the commission or bring a civil action for damages for any
211	211	violation of this chapter.
212	212	(b) An employer may comply with this section by displaying a
213	213	poster in a conspicuous place, accessible to employees, at the
214	214	employer's place of business that contains in both English and
215	215	Spanish the information required by this section.
216	216	(c) The notice under this section must also be provided in a
217	217	language other than English or Spanish if that language is the first
218	218	language spoken by at least 30 percent of the employer's workforce.
219	219	(d) The commission by rule shall prescribe the form and
220	220	content of the notice required under this section.
221	221	(e) The commission may adopt rules to establish additional
222	222	requirements concerning the means by which employers provide notice
223	223	required under this section.
224	224	Sec. 83.013. BREAK IN SERVICE. (a) Termination of an
225	225	employee's employment by an employer, regardless of whether
226	226	voluntary or involuntary, is considered a break in service for
227	227	purposes of this chapter.
228	228	(b) An employee who is subsequently rehired by the employer
229	229	following a break in service:
230	230	(1) begins to accrue paid sick leave under this
231	231	chapter; and
232	232	(2) is not entitled to any unused hours of paid sick
233	233	leave that had accrued before the employee's break in service,
234	234	unless the employee is rehired within 30 days of separation or the
235	235	employer agrees to reinstate some or all of the employee's
236	236	previously accrued paid sick leave.
237	237	Sec. 83.014. TRANSFER OF EMPLOYEE. (a) The transfer of an
238	238	employee to a separate division, entity, or location of the same
239	239	employer is not considered to be a break in service for purposes of
240	240	this chapter.
241	241	(b) Following a transfer described by Subsection (a), the
242	242	transferred employee is entitled to:
243	243	(1) retain all accrued paid sick leave under this
244	244	chapter; and
245	245	(2) immediately access the retained paid sick leave
246	246	time without any waiting period, except that the employee remains
247	247	subject to any remaining period of the initial waiting period
248	248	described by Section 83.005(a), if applicable.
249	249	Sec. 83.015. SUCCESSOR EMPLOYER. If an employer succeeds
250	250	or takes the place of an existing employer, employees of the former
251	251	employer who are employed by the successor are entitled to:
252	252	(1) retain all accrued paid sick leave under this
253	253	chapter; and
254	254	(2) immediately access the retained paid sick leave
255	255	time without any waiting period.
256	256	Sec. 83.016. LIMITATIONS OF CHAPTER. This chapter does
257	257	not:
258	258	(1) prevent an employer from providing more paid sick
259	259	leave than is required under this chapter;
260	260	(2) prohibit an employer that provides paid leave in
261	261	addition to the paid sick leave required under this chapter from
262	262	restricting the purposes for which an employee may take that
263	263	additional leave; or
264	264	(3) diminish any rights provided to any employee under
265	265	a collective bargaining agreement.
266	266	Sec. 83.017. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT. A collective
267	267	bargaining agreement may waive the requirements of this chapter by
268	268	clear and unambiguous language within the agreement.
269	269	Sec. 83.018. RETALIATION PROHIBITED. An employer may not
270	270	take retaliatory personnel action or otherwise discriminate
271	271	against an employee because the employee:
272	272	(1) requests or uses paid sick leave in accordance
273	273	with this chapter; or
274	274	(2) files a complaint with the commission alleging the
275	275	employer's violation of this chapter.
276	276	Sec. 83.019. COMPLAINT; HEARING; PENALTY. (a) Any
277	277	employee aggrieved by a violation of this chapter may file a claim
278	278	with the commission in the manner prescribed by Subchapter D,
279	279	Chapter 61.
280	280	(b) On receipt of a complaint, the commission shall
281	281	investigate and dispose of the complaint in the same manner as a
282	282	wage claim under Subchapter D, Chapter 61.
283	283	(c) An employer who is found by the commission, by a
284	284	preponderance of the evidence, to have violated a provision under
285	285	this chapter is liable to the commission for an administrative
286	286	penalty.
287	287	(d) The commission may award the employee all appropriate
288	288	relief, including payment for used paid sick leave, rehiring or
289	289	reinstatement to the employee's previous job, payment of back
290	290	wages, and reestablishment of employee benefits for which the
291	291	employee otherwise would have been eligible if the employee had not
292	292	been subject to retaliatory personnel action or other
293	293	discrimination.
294	294	(e) A party may appeal a final decision of the commission by
295	295	filing suit in district court.
296	296	Sec. 83.020. CIVIL PENALTY. An employer who wilfully
297	297	violates this chapter is liable for a civil penalty not to exceed
298	298	$100 for each violation. The attorney general may bring an action
299	299	to collect a civil penalty under this chapter. Civil penalties
300	300	assessed under this section shall be deposited in the general
301	301	revenue fund.
302	302	Sec. 83.021. CIVIL ACTION BY EMPLOYEE. (a) An employee
303	303	aggrieved by a violation of this chapter may bring a civil action to
304	304	enforce rights protected by this chapter, including an action for
305	305	appropriate injunctive relief, in the district court in the county
306	306	in which the alleged violation occurred or in which the alleged
307	307	violator's residence or principal place of business is located.
308	308	(b) An action under this section must be brought not later
309	309	than the second anniversary of the date of the violation.
310	310	(c) The employer of an employee who prevails in a civil
311	311	action under this section is liable to the affected employee for
312	312	damages equal to the amount of any wages, salary, employment
313	313	benefits, or other compensation denied or lost to the employee by
314	314	reason of the violation or, if wages, salary, employment benefits,
315	315	or other compensation has not been denied or lost, any actual
316	316	monetary losses sustained by the employee as a direct result of the
317	317	violation.
318	318	(d) An employer described by Subsection (c) is also liable
319	319	for equitable relief as appropriate, including reinstatement and
320	320	promotion.
321	321	(e) In addition to any judgment awarded to an employee, the
322	322	court may require the employer to pay reasonable attorney's fees,
323	323	reasonable expert witness fees, and other costs.
324	324	Sec. 83.022. INFORMATION FROM AND OUTREACH BY COMMISSION.
325	325	(a) The commission shall make available to the public on the
326	326	commission's Internet website information regarding:
327	327	(1) the requirements of and the rights and remedies
328	328	under this chapter; and
329	329	(2) best practices for employers with respect to paid
330	330	sick leave.
331	331	(b) The commission shall develop a pamphlet containing the
332	332	information provided under Subsection (a) and make the pamphlet
333	333	available at no cost for distribution at child-care facilities,
334	334	health care facilities, family violence shelters, and other
335	335	community centers.
336	336	(c) The commission shall make the information under
337	337	Subsections (a) and (b) available in both English and Spanish.
338	338	(d) The commission shall conduct additional public outreach
339	339	efforts to inform employees and the public about this chapter.
340	340	SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies to
341	341	an employee hired on or after January 1, 2024. For an employee
342	342	hired before January 1, 2024, paid sick leave under Chapter 83,
343	343	Labor Code, as added by this Act, begins to accrue on that date, and
344	344	the employee may begin to use the paid sick leave 90 calendar days
345	345	after that date, unless the employer agrees to an earlier date.
346	346	(b) Chapter 83, Labor Code, as added by this Act, does not
347	347	preempt or override the terms of any collective bargaining
348	348	agreement effective before January 1, 2024.
349	349	SECTION 3. Not later than December 1, 2023, the Texas
350	350	Workforce Commission shall:
351	351	(1) prescribe the form and content of the notice
352	352	required by Section 83.012(a), Labor Code, as added by this Act;
353	353	(2) post on the commission's Internet website the
354	354	information required by Section 83.022(a), Labor Code, as added by
355	355	this Act; and
356	356	(3) adopt rules necessary to implement Chapter 83,
357	357	Labor Code, as added by this Act.
358	358	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.