By: Flores H.B. No. 67
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain heat safety protections; providing
administrative and civil penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 2, Labor Code, is amended by
adding Chapter 53 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 53. HEAT SAFETY
Sec. 53.001. DEFINITIONS. In this section:
(1) "Commission" means the Texas Workforce
Commission.
(2) "Heat illness" means a serious medical condition
resulting from the body's inability to cope with a particular heat
load and includes heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat syncope, and
heat stroke.
(3) "Heat safety expert" means a person that:
(A) possesses a certification or educational
degree in public health, medicine, occupational safety,
environmental science, human physiology, or a related field; and
(B) performs work focused on heat safety in the
workplace.
Sec. 53.002. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies to the
mitigation and control of risks related to heat illness, regardless
of the location of employment, type of employment, or type of
employer.
Sec. 53.003. HEAT ILLNESS PREVENTION ADVISORY BOARD;
STANDARDS. (a) The commission shall appoint an advisory board
consisting of the following seven members:
(1) two heat safety experts;
(2) two persons employed as construction workers;
(3) one employer;
(4) one representative of a non-profit organization
engaged in worker safety issues; and
(5) one representative of a construction worker labor
union.
(b) The advisory board appointed under this section shall
develop and recommend heat illness prevention standards consistent
with this chapter and designed to protect employees from heat
illness in indoor and outdoor work. The commission shall review and
adopt the standards recommended by the advisory board under this
section for use by employers to the extent that the standards are
consistent with this chapter and other applicable law.
(c) The standards recommended by the advisory board and
adopted by the commission under this section must:
(1) be developed in a manner consistent with "Criteria
for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Exposure to Heat and Hot
Environments" published by the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health;
(2) include requirements related to the provision of
drinking water, access to nearby shade or climate-controlled
environments, access to nearby restrooms and handwashing stations,
rest periods, effective emergency response procedures,
acclimatization to working in heat, training procedures for
employees and supervisors, and related standards for protection
against heat illness; and
(3) include mandatory administrative penalties of not
less than $1,000 per violation per employee for an employer's
failure to comply with heat illness prevention standards adopted
under this section, to be assessed and administered by the
commission.
Sec. 53.004. SIGNAGE REQUIRED. (a) The commission shall
produce signage in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and any other
languages that the commission determines to be appropriate
outlining:
(1) the heat illness prevention standards adopted by
the commission under this chapter; and
(2) an employee's rights under this chapter.
(b) The commission shall make the signage available for free
download by employers and the public on the commission's website.
(c) An employer shall post a copy of the signage described
by this section at its place of business in a place accessible by
the employer's employees.
Sec. 53.005. EMPLOYEE TRAINING REQUIRED. An employer is
required to provide training to each of its employees about the heat
illness prevention standards adopted under this chapter as they
relate to employees, supervisors, and employers. The training,
including any related written materials, must be provided to each
employee in a language that the employee understands.
Sec. 53.006. UNLAWFUL EMPLOYMENT PRACTICE. An employer
commits an unlawful employment practice under this chapter if the
employer retaliates or discriminates against an employee that:
(1) experiences heat illness;
(2) reports heat illness or a violation of this
chapter or other applicable standards to their employer;
(3) files a complaint with the Texas Workforce
Commission;
(4) files a lawsuit; or
(5) testifies, assists, or participates in any manner
in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under this chapter.
Sec. 53.007. LIABILITY. (a) In addition to any
administrative penalties assessed under this chapter, an employee
is entitled to a private right of action in a court of appropriate
jurisdiction for an employer's failure to comply with heat illness
prevention standards adopted under this chapter. An employee is
not required to exhaust applicable alternative administrative
remedies before pursuing a private right of action under this
section.
(b) An employee that prevails in an action against an
employer under this section is entitled to recover from the
employer all court costs and reasonable attorney fees related to
the action.
(c) If the court presiding over an action filed by an
employee under this section finds that an employer knowingly
violated the heat illness prevention standards adopted under this
chapter, the court shall award the employee an amount equal to
triple the amount of damages otherwise due to the employee.
Sec. 53.008. DEADLINES FOR CERTAIN ACTIONS. (a) The
commission shall appoint the advisory board described by Section
53.003 as soon as reasonably possible after the effective date of
this Act, but not later than October 1, 2023.
(b) The advisory board shall submit recommended standards
to the commission under Section 53.003 not later than January 1,
2024.
(c) The commission shall adopt and publish the standards
described by Section 53.003 not later than March 1, 2024.
(d) This section expires and is repealed on January 1, 2025.
SECTION 2. Chapter 53, Labor Code, as added by this Act,
applies only to work performed on or after the adoption and
publication of the standards described by Section 53.003, Labor
Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2023.