89R4373 DNC-D
By: VanDeaver H.B. No. 1609
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the prohibition of certain employment discrimination
regarding an employee who is a volunteer emergency responder.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title 2, Labor Code, is amended by
adding Chapter 24 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 24. EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION REGARDING VOLUNTEER
EMERGENCY RESPONDERS
Sec. 24.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Emergency" means an emergency declared by the
president, the governor, a county judge, or a mayor.
(2) "Emergency medical services" has the meaning
assigned by Section 773.003, Health and Safety Code.
(3) "Emergency medical services volunteer" has the
meaning assigned by Section 773.003, Health and Safety Code.
(4) "Emergency service organization" means any entity
established to provide for the public:
(A) fire prevention and suppression;
(B) hazardous materials response operations; or
(C) emergency medical services.
(5) "Employee" means an individual who is employed by
an employer for compensation.
(6) "Employer" means a person who employs 20 or more
employees. The term includes the state or a political subdivision
of the state.
(7) "Political subdivision" means a county,
municipality, special district, or authority of this state.
(8) "Volunteer emergency responder" means an
individual who is an active participant in an emergency service
organization but who does not receive compensation for the
individual's services. The term includes an emergency medical
services volunteer and a volunteer firefighter.
(9) "Volunteer fire department" has the meaning
assigned by Section 614.101, Government Code.
(10) "Volunteer firefighter" means an individual who
is a member of a volunteer fire department.
Sec. 24.002. DISCRIMINATION PROHIBITED; LIMITATION. (a)
Except as provided by this chapter, an employer may not terminate or
suspend the employment of, or in any other manner discriminate
against, an employee who is a volunteer emergency responder and who
is absent from or late to the employee's employment because the
employee is responding to an emergency in the employee's capacity
as a volunteer emergency responder.
(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), an employee who is a
volunteer emergency responder is not entitled under this chapter to
be absent from the employee's employment for more than 14 days in a
calendar year unless the employee's absence is approved by the
employer.
Sec. 24.003. NOTICE TO EMPLOYER. An employee who is a
volunteer emergency responder and who may be absent from or late to
employment because the employee is responding to an emergency as a
volunteer emergency responder shall make a reasonable effort to
notify the employer that the employee may be absent or late. If the
employee is unable to provide the notice due to the extreme
circumstances of the emergency or inability to contact the
employer, the employee shall submit to the employer, on the
employer's request, a written verification of participation in an
emergency activity that:
(1) is signed by the supervisor, or the designee of the
supervisor, of the entity for which the affected volunteer
emergency responder provides services or the applicable emergency
service organization; and
(2) states that the volunteer emergency responder
responded to an emergency and provides information regarding the
emergency.
Sec. 24.004. EFFECT ON EMPLOYEE WAGES; USE OF LEAVE TIME.
(a) An employer may reduce the wages otherwise owed to the employee
for any pay period because the employee took time off during that
pay period for an absence authorized by this chapter.
(b) In lieu of reducing an employee's wages under Subsection
(a), an employer may require an employee who is a volunteer
emergency responder to use existing vacation leave time, personal
leave time, or compensatory leave time for an absence authorized by
this chapter, except as otherwise provided by a collective
bargaining agreement.
(c) This section does not affect an employee's right to
wages or leave time under Section 661.905, Government Code.
Sec. 24.005. LIABILITY; REINSTATEMENT. An employee whose
employment is suspended or terminated in violation of this chapter
is entitled to:
(1) reinstatement to the employee's former position or
a position that is comparable in terms of compensation, benefits,
and other conditions of employment;
(2) compensation for wages lost during the period of
suspension or termination; and
(3) reinstatement of any fringe benefits and seniority
rights lost because of the suspension or termination.
Sec. 24.006. CIVIL ACTION. (a) An employee whose employer
violates this chapter may bring a civil action against the employer
to enforce rights protected by this chapter.
(b) An action under this section must be brought in the
county in which the place of employment is located not later than
the first anniversary of the date of the violation.
SECTION 2. Chapter 24, Labor Code, as added by this Act,
applies only to a cause of action that accrues on or after the
effective date of this Act. A cause of action that accrued before
the effective date of this Act is governed by the law applicable to
the cause of action immediately before the effective date of this
Act, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.