Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1880 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R3431 DNC-F
2	2	By: Simmons H.B. No. 1880
3	3
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to requiring certain employers to provide paid sick leave
10	10	to employees; providing administrative penalties.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Subtitle D, Title 2, Labor Code, is amended by
13	13	adding Chapter 83 to read as follows:
14	14	CHAPTER 83. EARNED PAID SICK LEAVE
15	15	Sec. 83.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
16	16	(1) "Commission" means the Texas Workforce
17	17	Commission.
18	18	(2) "Employee" means a person employed by an employer
19	19	for compensation who works at least 80 hours in a calendar year.
20	20	The term includes a person who works through an employment agency,
21	21	as defined by Section 21.002, and a temporary help firm, as defined
22	22	by Section 201.011. The term does not include a person who is:
23	23	(A) an unpaid volunteer; or
24	24	(B) an independent contractor.
25	25	(3) "Employer" means a person who is engaged in an
26	26	industry affecting commerce and who employs one or more employees.
27	27	(4) "Family member" means:
28	28	(A) a person related to an employee within the
29	29	third degree by consanguinity or affinity, as described by
30	30	Subchapter B, Chapter 573, Government Code; or
31	31	(B) a person related to an employee by
32	32	consanguinity or affinity who lives in the employee's household.
33	33	(5) "Family violence" has the meaning assigned by
34	34	Section 71.004, Family Code.
35	35	(6) "Household" has the meaning assigned by Section
36	36	71.005, Family Code.
37	37	(7) "Sexual assault" means any conduct that
38	38	constitutes an offense under Section 22.011 or 22.021, Penal Code.
39	39	(8) "Stalking" means any conduct that constitutes an
40	40	offense under Section 42.072, Penal Code.
41	41	Sec. 83.002. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter does
42	42	not apply to an employer who is:
43	43	(1) a state agency or political subdivision, as those
44	44	terms are defined by Section 21.002; or
45	45	(2) an agency of or a corporation wholly owned by the
46	46	federal government.
47	47	Sec. 83.003. PAID SICK LEAVE REQUIRED. Each employer shall
48	48	provide paid sick leave annually to each employee in this state
49	49	under the terms of this chapter.
50	50	Sec. 83.004. PAID SICK LEAVE ACCRUAL AND CARRYOVER. (a)
51	51	Paid sick leave under this chapter accrues beginning on the date of
52	52	hire at a rate of one hour of paid sick leave for each 30 hours
53	53	worked by an employee.
54	54	(b) An employer may not limit the maximum number of hours of
55	55	paid sick leave an employee may accrue to less than:
56	56	(1) 64 hours per calendar year, if the employer
57	57	employed at least 15 employees, not including family members, at
58	58	any time during the preceding calendar year; or
59	59	(2) 48 hours per calendar year, if the employer
60	60	employed fewer than 15 employees, not including family members, at
61	61	any time during the preceding calendar year.
62	62	(c) Each employee is entitled to carry over not more than
63	63	the number of hours specified in Subsection (b) of unused paid sick
64	64	leave from the current calendar year to the following calendar year
65	65	unless the employer elects to make paid sick leave available at the
66	66	beginning of a year as provided by Section 83.005(c).
67	67	(d) Sick leave hours carried over from a previous calendar
68	68	year must be immediately available to the employee in the following
69	69	calendar year.
70	70	Sec. 83.005. ENTITLEMENT TO USE PAID SICK LEAVE;
71	71	LIMITATIONS. (a) An employee is entitled to use accrued paid sick
72	72	leave under this chapter 60 calendar days after the date of hire,
73	73	unless the employer agrees to an earlier date.
74	74	(b) An employee is not entitled to use accrued paid sick
75	75	leave under this chapter on more than eight calendar days in any
76	76	calendar year.
77	77	(c) An employer may make immediately available to an
78	78	employee at the beginning of a year, quarter, or other period the
79	79	entire amount of paid sick leave that the employee is expected to
80	80	accrue during the year, quarter, or other period.
81	81	(d) At the employer's discretion, an employer may loan paid
82	82	sick leave time to an employee in advance of accrual by the
83	83	employee.
84	84	(e) On the mutual consent of the employee and employer, an
85	85	employee who chooses to work additional hours or shifts during the
86	86	same or following pay period, instead of hours or shifts missed,
87	87	does not use accrued paid sick leave. An employer may establish
88	88	incentives to encourage employees to work additional hours or
89	89	shifts as provided by this subsection instead of using accrued paid
90	90	sick leave.
91	91	(f) Unless an employee policy or collective bargaining
92	92	agreement provides for the payment of accrued fringe benefits on
93	93	termination, an employee is not entitled to payment of unused
94	94	accrued paid sick leave under this chapter on termination of
95	95	employment.
96	96	Sec. 83.006. PAY RATE FOR SICK LEAVE. Each employer shall
97	97	pay each employee for paid sick leave taken at a pay rate equal to
98	98	the normal hourly wage for that employee. The employee's normal
99	99	hourly wage may not be less than the amount required by Section
100	100	62.051.
101	101	Sec. 83.007. USE OF PAID SICK LEAVE. (a) An employee may
102	102	use paid sick leave accrued under this chapter if:
103	103	(1) the employee is ill, is injured, or has an
104	104	appointment with a health care provider;
105	105	(2) it is necessary for the employee to:
106	106	(A) care for a family member who is ill or
107	107	injured; or
108	108	(B) accompany a family member to an appointment
109	109	with a health care provider; or
110	110	(3) the employee or the employee's family member is a
111	111	victim of family violence, sexual assault, or stalking and the
112	112	employee or the family member needs to:
113	113	(A) receive medical attention;
114	114	(B) relocate the employee's or the family
115	115	member's residence;
116	116	(C) receive services from a victim services
117	117	organization; or
118	118	(D) participate in a legal proceeding or
119	119	court-ordered requirement relating to the family violence, sexual
120	120	assault, or stalking.
121	121	(b) An employer may adopt a reasonable procedure to verify
122	122	that the use of paid sick leave by an employee who uses the leave for
123	123	more than three consecutive work days meets the requirements of
124	124	this section.
125	125	(c) An employer may not require an employee to find another
126	126	employee to work during the time the employee intends to use paid
127	127	sick leave as a condition of using paid sick leave.
128	128	Sec. 83.008. NOTICE TO EMPLOYER. (a) If an employee's need
129	129	to use paid sick leave under this chapter is foreseeable, an
130	130	employer may require advance notice of the intention to use paid
131	131	sick leave.
132	132	(b) If an employee's need for paid sick leave is not
133	133	foreseeable, an employer may require the employee to give notice of
134	134	the intention to use paid sick leave under this chapter as soon as
135	135	practicable.
136	136	Sec. 83.009. EMPLOYER STATEMENT. (a) At least monthly, an
137	137	employer shall provide to each employee an electronic or written
138	138	statement that includes an accounting of the paid sick leave taken
139	139	by the employee and the current amount of paid sick leave available
140	140	to the employee.
141	141	(b) An employer shall retain records that document the
142	142	amount of paid sick leave accrued and taken by each employee. The
143	143	records must be maintained for the applicable period of time
144	144	required by 29 C.F.R. Part 516, Subpart A.
145	145	(c) This section does not create a new requirement for a
146	146	certified payroll.
147	147	Sec. 83.010. NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES. (a) An employer shall
148	148	include in the employer's employee handbook a notice containing an
149	149	employee's rights and remedies relating to paid sick leave required
150	150	by this chapter.
151	151	(b) This section does not require an employer to create an
152	152	employee handbook.
153	153	(c) An employer shall display in a conspicuous place,
154	154	accessible to employees, at the employer's place of business a
155	155	notice that describes the requirements of this chapter. The
156	156	commission by rule shall prescribe the form and content of the
157	157	notice.
158	158	Sec. 83.011. EMPLOYER COMPLIANCE. An employer is in
159	159	compliance with this chapter if the employer offers paid leave
160	160	that:
161	161	(1) may be used for the purposes described by Section
162	162	83.007; and
163	163	(2) is accrued at a rate equal to or greater than the
164	164	rate described by Section 83.004.
165	165	Sec. 83.012. BREAK IN SERVICE. (a) Termination of an
166	166	employee's employment by an employer, regardless of whether
167	167	voluntary or involuntary, is considered a break in service for
168	168	purposes of this chapter.
169	169	(b) An employee who is subsequently rehired by the employer
170	170	following a break in service:
171	171	(1) begins to accrue paid sick leave under this
172	172	chapter; and
173	173	(2) is not entitled to any unused hours of paid sick
174	174	leave that accrued before the employee's break in service, unless
175	175	the employee is rehired within six months of separation or the
176	176	employer agrees to reinstate all of the employee's previously
177	177	accrued paid sick leave.
178	178	Sec. 83.013. TRANSFER OF EMPLOYEE. (a) The transfer of an
179	179	employee to a separate division, entity, or location of the same
180	180	employer is not considered to be a break in service for purposes of
181	181	this chapter.
182	182	(b) Following a transfer described by Subsection (a), the
183	183	transferred employee is entitled to:
184	184	(1) retain all accrued paid sick leave under this
185	185	chapter; and
186	186	(2) immediately access the retained paid sick leave
187	187	without any waiting period.
188	188	Sec. 83.014. SUCCESSOR EMPLOYER. If an employer succeeds
189	189	or takes the place of an existing employer, employees of the former
190	190	employer who are employed by the successor are entitled to:
191	191	(1) retain all accrued paid sick leave under this
192	192	chapter; and
193	193	(2) immediately access the retained paid sick leave
194	194	without any waiting period.
195	195	Sec. 83.015. LIMITATIONS OF CHAPTER. This chapter does
196	196	not:
197	197	(1) prevent an employer from providing more paid sick
198	198	leave than is required under this chapter;
199	199	(2) prohibit an employer that provides paid leave in
200	200	addition to the paid sick leave required under this chapter from
201	201	restricting the purposes for which an employee may take that
202	202	additional leave; or
203	203	(3) diminish any rights provided to any employee under
204	204	a collective bargaining agreement.
205	205	Sec. 83.016. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS. A
206	206	collective bargaining agreement may waive the requirements of this
207	207	chapter by clear and unambiguous language within the agreement.
208	208	Sec. 83.017. RETALIATION PROHIBITED. An employer may not
209	209	take retaliatory personnel action or otherwise discriminate
210	210	against an employee because the employee:
211	211	(1) requests or uses paid sick leave in accordance
212	212	with this chapter; or
213	213	(2) files a complaint with the commission alleging the
214	214	employer's violation of this chapter.
215	215	Sec. 83.018. COMPLAINT; HEARING; ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY.
216	216	(a) Any employee aggrieved by a violation of this chapter may file
217	217	a claim with the commission in the manner prescribed by Subchapter
218	218	D, Chapter 61.
219	219	(b) On receipt of a complaint, the commission shall
220	220	investigate and dispose of the complaint in the same manner as a
221	221	wage claim under Subchapter D, Chapter 61.
222	222	(c) An employer who is found by the commission, by a
223	223	preponderance of the evidence, to have violated Section 83.017 is
224	224	liable to the commission for an administrative penalty of $500 for
225	225	each violation.
226	226	(d) An employer who is found by the commission, by a
227	227	preponderance of the evidence, to have violated a provision under
228	228	this chapter other than Section 83.017 is liable to the commission
229	229	for an administrative penalty of not more than $100 for each
230	230	violation.
231	231	(e) If the commission finds that an employer violated
232	232	Section 83.017, the commission shall award to the employee all
233	233	appropriate relief, including payment for used paid sick leave,
234	234	rehiring or reinstatement to the employee's previous job, payment
235	235	of back wages, and reestablishment of employee benefits for which
236	236	the employee otherwise would have been eligible if the employee had
237	237	not been subject to retaliatory personnel action or other
238	238	discrimination.
239	239	(f) A complaint under this section must be brought not later
240	240	than the second anniversary of the date of the violation.
241	241	Sec. 83.019. INFORMATION FROM AND OUTREACH BY COMMISSION.
242	242	(a) The commission shall make available to the public on the
243	243	commission's Internet website information regarding:
244	244	(1) the requirements of and the rights and remedies
245	245	under this chapter; and
246	246	(2) best practices for employers with respect to paid
247	247	sick leave.
248	248	(b) The commission may conduct additional public outreach
249	249	efforts to inform employees and the public about this chapter.
250	250	SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies to
251	251	an employee hired on or after January 1, 2027. For an employee
252	252	hired before January 1, 2027, paid sick leave under Chapter 83,
253	253	Labor Code, as added by this Act, begins to accrue on that date, and
254	254	the employee may begin to use the paid sick leave 90 calendar days
255	255	after that date, unless the employer agrees to an earlier date.
256	256	(b) Chapter 83, Labor Code, as added by this Act, does not
257	257	preempt or override the terms of any collective bargaining
258	258	agreement effective before January 1, 2027.
259	259	SECTION 3. Not later than September 1, 2026, the Texas
260	260	Workforce Commission shall:
261	261	(1) prescribe the form and content of the notice
262	262	required by Section 83.010(c), Labor Code, as added by this Act;
263	263	(2) post on the commission's Internet website the
264	264	information required by Section 83.019(a), Labor Code, as added by
265	265	this Act; and
266	266	(3) adopt rules necessary to implement Chapter 83,
267	267	Labor Code, as added by this Act.
268	268	SECTION 4. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
269	269	section, this Act takes effect January 1, 2027.
270	270	(b) Section 3 of this Act takes effect September 1, 2025.