89R324 KKR-D
By: González of El Paso H.B. No. 317
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to an employee's right to time off from work if the
employee experiences a reproductive loss.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle D, Title 2, Labor Code, is amended by
adding Chapter 83 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 83. EMPLOYEE RIGHT TO TIME OFF FOLLOWING REPRODUCTIVE LOSS
Sec. 83.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Adoption" has the meaning assigned by Section
162.402, Family Code.
(2) "Assisted reproduction" has the meaning assigned
by Section 160.102, Family Code.
(3) "Employee" means an individual employed by an
employer.
(4) "Employer" means a person that employs five or
more employees. The term includes a public employer.
(5) "Gestational mother" means a woman who gives birth
to a child conceived under a surrogacy agreement.
(6) "Public employer" has the meaning assigned by
Section 619.001, Government Code.
(7) "Surrogacy agreement" means a validated
gestational agreement under Subchapter I, Chapter 160, Family Code,
or a surrogacy agreement entered into under another state's or
country's law.
Sec. 83.002. APPLICABILITY. (a) This chapter applies only
to an employee who:
(1) is employed by the employer for at least 30 days;
and
(2) would have been a parent of a child as a result of:
(A) a pregnancy of the employee, the employee's
spouse, or a gestational mother; or
(B) an adoption.
(b) This chapter does not apply to an employer that is an
agency of the federal government.
Sec. 83.003. RIGHT TO TIME OFF; LIMITATIONS. (a) An
employee to whom this chapter applies is entitled to five days of
time off during the three-month period following the date the
employee experiences a reproductive loss resulting from:
(1) a miscarriage or stillbirth;
(2) an unsuccessful assisted reproduction procedure,
including an unsuccessful round of intrauterine insemination;
(3) the dissolution or breach of an adoption agreement
with the birth mother or legal guardian or an adoption that is not
finalized because the adoption is contested by another person; or
(4) the dissolution or breach of a gestational
agreement, or a failed embryo transfer to the intended gestational
mother under the agreement.
(b) An employee shall provide notice to the employer of the
employee's intent to take time off under this chapter as soon as it
is reasonably practicable.
(c) An employee may take time off under this section
consecutively or intermittently.
(d) An employee who experiences more than one reproductive
loss in a 12-month period is entitled under this section to not more
than 20 work days of time off during that period.
Sec. 83.004. USE OF LEAVE TIME. An employer may not require
an employee to substitute accrued paid vacation leave, medical or
sick leave, or other leave for time off provided by this chapter.
Sec. 83.005. EFFECT ON EMPLOYEE PAY. An employer is not
required to compensate an employee who takes time off provided by
this chapter.
Sec. 83.006. EMPLOYEE CERTIFICATION. (a) Subject to
Subsection (b), an employer may require an employee to provide,
within a reasonable time after the employee's initial absence from
work, certification to the employer that:
(1) the employee experienced a reproductive loss
described by Section 83.003(a); and
(2) the employee's time off from work is related to the
loss.
(b) An employer may not require that an employee requesting
time off under this chapter provide to the employer:
(1) the cause or nature of the employee's reproductive
loss; or
(2) documentation related to the employee's
reproductive loss.
(c) The Texas Workforce Commission shall create and make
available a form that may be used by an employee for certification
under this section. An employee is not required to use the form
created under this subsection to provide certification.
Sec. 83.007. CONFIDENTIALITY. An employer shall maintain
the confidentiality of the fact that an employee has requested or
taken time off under this chapter and any written document or record
submitted to the employer by the employee relating to time off
requested or taken under this chapter, except to the extent that
disclosure is:
(1) requested or consented to in writing by the
employee; or
(2) required by other state or federal law.
Sec. 83.008. NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES. Each employer shall
inform its employees of the right to take time off under this
chapter by posting a sign in a prominent location in the employer's
workplace.
Sec. 83.009. EMPLOYER RETALIATION PROHIBITED. An employer
may not suspend or terminate the employment of, or otherwise
discriminate against, an employee who:
(1) requests or takes time off authorized by this
chapter; or
(2) testifies, assists, or participates in any manner
in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing relating to a violation
of this chapter.
Sec. 83.010. UNLAWFUL EMPLOYMENT PRACTICE. An employer
that violates this chapter commits an unlawful employment practice
under Subchapter B, Chapter 21.
SECTION 2. This Act applies only to a suspension,
termination, or other adverse employment action that is taken by an
employer against an employee because of an employee absence
authorized under Chapter 83, Labor Code, as added by this Act, that
occurs based on a reproductive loss occurring on or after the
effective date of this Act.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.