Texas 2023 - 88th 3rd C.S.

Texas Senate Bill SB69 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Eckhardt, et al. S.B. No. 69
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3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to paid rest breaks for construction employees of
7	7	construction contractors and subcontractors; providing an
8	8	administrative penalty.
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. PAID REST BREAKS FOR CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYEES
13	13	Sec. 83.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
14	14	(1) "Commission" means the Texas Workforce
15	15	Commission.
16	16	(2) "Construction employee" means an individual paid
17	17	by a construction employer to perform general construction work or
18	18	services.
19	19	(3) "Construction employer" means a contractor or
20	20	subcontractor who employs one or more construction employees in
21	21	this state.
22	22	(4) "Contractor" means a person, firm, or corporation
23	23	contracting for general construction.
24	24	(5) "General construction" means the:
25	25	(A) erection of or preparation to erect a
26	26	structure;
27	27	(B) remodeling, extension, repair, or demolition
28	28	of a structure; or
29	29	(C) other improvement of real property or a
30	30	structure related to real property.
31	31	(6) "Rest break" means a break from work during work
32	32	hours. The term does not include a regular meal break period
33	33	provided to a construction employee by a construction employer.
34	34	(7) "Subcontractor" means a person, firm, or
35	35	corporation contracting with a contractor for general
36	36	construction.
37	37	Sec. 83.002. PAID REST BREAKS REQUIRED. (a) A construction
38	38	employer shall provide at least a 15-minute paid rest break for
39	39	every four hours of work to each construction employee.
40	40	(b) The construction employer may not require the paid rest
41	41	break to be taken as part of a separate meal break.
42	42	Sec. 83.003. NOTICE TO CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYEES. (a) Each
43	43	construction employer shall, at the time of hiring, provide notice
44	44	in both English and Spanish to each construction employee:
45	45	(1) of the employee's entitlement to paid rest breaks
46	46	under this chapter;
47	47	(2) that retaliation by the employer against the
48	48	employee for requesting or taking paid rest breaks to which the
49	49	employee is entitled under this chapter is prohibited; and
50	50	(3) that the employee has a right to file a complaint
51	51	with the commission for any violation of this chapter.
52	52	(b) A construction employer may comply with this section by
53	53	displaying a poster in a conspicuous place, accessible to
54	54	construction employees, at the employer's place of business and at
55	55	the applicable construction work site that contains the information
56	56	required by this section in both English and Spanish.
57	57	(c) The commission by rule shall prescribe the design and
58	58	content of the sign described by Subsection (b).
59	59	Sec. 83.004. RETALIATION PROHIBITED. A construction
60	60	employer may not take retaliatory personnel action or otherwise
61	61	discriminate against a construction employee because the employee:
62	62	(1) requests or takes paid rest breaks in accordance
63	63	with this chapter; or
64	64	(2) files a complaint with the commission alleging the
65	65	employer's violation of this chapter.
66	66	Sec. 83.005. COMPLAINT; HEARING; PENALTY. (a) Any
67	67	construction employee aggrieved by a violation of this chapter may
68	68	file a claim with the commission in the manner prescribed by
69	69	Subchapter D, Chapter 61. Except as otherwise provided by this
70	70	chapter, the commission shall investigate and dispose of the
71	71	complaint in the same manner as a wage claim under Subchapter D,
72	72	Chapter 61.
73	73	(b) A construction employer that violates any applicable
74	74	requirement of this chapter must be provided with an opportunity to
75	75	correct the violation under Subsection (d).
76	76	(c) The commission shall notify the construction employer
77	77	if the commission determines that the employer has violated this
78	78	chapter.
79	79	(d) If the construction employer corrects the violation not
80	80	later than the 30th business day after the date the employer
81	81	receives notice under Subsection (c), the commission may not assess
82	82	an administrative penalty against the employer.
83	83	(e) The commission may assess an administrative penalty
84	84	against a construction employer for a violation of this chapter
85	85	only if the employer fails to correct the violation before the 31st
86	86	business day after the date the employer receives notice that the
87	87	employer has violated this chapter.
88	88	(f) The commission may award the construction employee all
89	89	appropriate relief, including rehiring or reinstatement to the
90	90	employee's previous job, payment of back wages, and reestablishment
91	91	of employee benefits for which the employee otherwise would have
92	92	been eligible if the employee had not been subject to retaliatory
93	93	personnel action or other discrimination.
94	94	(g) A party may appeal a final decision of the commission in
95	95	the manner prescribed by Section 61.062.
96	96	SECTION 2. Chapter 83, Labor Code, as added by this Act,
97	97	applies only to a violation that occurs on or after the effective
98	98	date of this Act.
99	99	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the
100	100	last day of the legislative session.