Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB5164 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R12300 RDS-D
2	2	By: Bryant H.B. No. 5164
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to parental leave for certain employees paid by employers
10	10	or insurance policies maintained by employers.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 4, Labor Code, is amended by
13	13	adding Chapter 320 to read as follows:
14	14	CHAPTER 320. PAID PARENTAL LEAVE FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES
15	15	Sec. 320.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
16	16	(1) "Employee" means an individual who performs
17	17	services in this state for an employer for compensation under a
18	18	contract for hire, whether express or implied. The term does not
19	19	include an independent contractor or a state employee to which
20	20	Section 661.9125, Government Code, applies.
21	21	(2) "Employer" means a person that employs 50 or more
22	22	employees.
23	23	Sec. 320.002. PAID PARENTAL LEAVE FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES.
24	24	(a) This section applies only to an employee who, during the
25	25	preceding 12 months, has worked for the employer on a full-time
26	26	basis.
27	27	(b) Subject to Subsection (c), an employee to whom this
28	28	section applies is entitled, on request, to 60 days of paid leave
29	29	for the:
30	30	(1) birth of a child by the employee;
31	31	(2) birth of a child by the employee's spouse;
32	32	(3) birth of a child by a gestational surrogate;
33	33	(4) adoption of a child; or
34	34	(5) provision of foster care or kinship care to a child
35	35	younger than one year of age who is in the conservatorship of the
36	36	Department of Family and Protective Services.
37	37	(c) The amount of paid leave to which an employee is
38	38	entitled under Subsection (b) for each week of leave taken under
39	39	that subsection is an amount equal to the employee's average weekly
40	40	wage during the 12-month period preceding the first day that the
41	41	employee takes leave under that subsection.
42	42	(d) This section does not entitle an employee to leave in
43	43	addition to any leave the employee is entitled to under the federal
44	44	Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. Section 2601 et
45	45	seq.). An employee is not entitled to paid leave under this section
46	46	for any period during which the employee is taking other paid leave.
47	47	(e) An employee may not take leave under this section:
48	48	(1) later than the first anniversary of the date of
49	49	birth or adoption of a child or placement of a child in foster care
50	50	or kinship care; or
51	51	(2) more than one time during a 12-month period.
52	52	(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an
53	53	employee who takes leave under this section for the purpose
54	54	described by Subsection (b)(1) may take the leave before the birth
55	55	of the child.
56	56	(g) An employer may not take an adverse employment action
57	57	against an employee because the employee has taken or plans to take
58	58	paid leave under this section. For purposes of this subsection,
59	59	"adverse employment action" includes termination or suspension of
60	60	the employee's employment, an action that affects the employee's
61	61	compensation, promotion, or performance evaluation, or any other
62	62	employment action that would dissuade a reasonable employee from
63	63	taking paid leave under this chapter.
64	64	Sec. 320.003. PAYMENT OF PAID PARENTAL LEAVE COSTS. (a) To
65	65	pay for the costs associated with paid leave required under Section
66	66	320.002, an employer may directly pay those costs or maintain an
67	67	insurance policy providing coverage for those costs in accordance
68	68	with this section.
69	69	(b) An employer electing to maintain an insurance policy
70	70	under Subsection (a) shall maintain a policy that provides
71	71	sufficient coverage for the employer's employees who are entitled
72	72	to paid leave under Section 320.002. To the extent the policy does
73	73	not cover the costs associated with paid leave required under
74	74	Section 320.002, the employer is liable for those costs.
75	75	(c) The commissioner of insurance may adopt rules
76	76	prescribing sufficient coverage requirements and reasonable rates
77	77	for an insurance policy described by this section.
78	78	Sec. 320.004. EXCEPTION. Notwithstanding any other
79	79	provision of this chapter, an employee is not entitled to paid leave
80	80	under Section 320.002, and an employer is not required to pay costs
81	81	associated with that leave under Section 320.003, if no insurer
82	82	authorized to engage in the business of insurance in this state
83	83	offers an insurance policy described by Section 320.003 by October
84	84	1 of the year preceding the year in which the paid leave requirement
85	85	would take effect.
86	86	SECTION 2. An employee is not entitled to paid leave under
87	87	Chapter 320, Labor Code, as added by this Act, before January 1,
88	88	2027.
89	89	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.