Bill Text: TX HB307 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Relating to requiring certain employers to provide paid sick leave to employees; providing administrative penalties.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-02-23 - Referred to International Relations & Economic Development [HB307 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB307-Introduced.html

---

By: Bernal H.B. No. 307

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to requiring certain employers to provide paid sick leave
to employees; providing administrative penalties.
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. EARNED PAID SICK LEAVE
Sec. 83.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Commission" means the Texas Workforce
Commission.
(2) "Employee" means a person employed by an employer
for compensation who works at least 80 hours in a calendar year.
The term includes a person who works through an employment agency,
as defined by Section 21.002, and a temporary help firm, as defined
by Section 201.011. The term does not include a person who is:
(A) an unpaid volunteer; or
(B) an independent contractor.
(3) "Employer" means a person who is engaged in an
industry affecting commerce and who employs one or more employees.
(4) "Family member" means:
(A) a person related to an employee within the
third degree by consanguinity or affinity, as described by
Subchapter B, Chapter 573, Government Code; or
(B) a person related to an employee by
consanguinity or affinity who lives in the employee's household.
(5) "Family violence" has the meaning assigned by
Section 71.004, Family Code.
(6) "Household" has the meaning assigned by Section
71.005, Family Code.
(7) "Sexual assault" means any conduct that
constitutes an offense under Section 22.011 or 22.021, Penal Code.
(8) "Stalking" means any conduct that constitutes an
offense under Section 42.072, Penal Code.
Sec. 83.002. APPLICABILITY OF CHAPTER. This chapter does
not apply to an employer who is:
(1) a state agency or political subdivision, as those
terms are defined by Section 21.002; or
(2) an agency of or a corporation wholly owned by the
federal government.
Sec. 83.003. PAID SICK LEAVE REQUIRED. Each employer shall
provide paid sick leave annually to each employee in this state
under the terms of this chapter.
Sec. 83.004. PAID SICK LEAVE ACCRUAL AND CARRYOVER. (a)
Paid sick leave under this chapter accrues beginning on the date of
hire at a rate of one hour of paid sick leave for each 30 hours
worked by an employee.
(b) An employer may not limit the maximum number of hours of
paid sick leave an employee may accrue to less than:
(1) 64 hours per calendar year, if the employer
employed at least 15 employees, not including family members, at
any time during the preceding calendar year; or
(2) 48 hours per calendar year, if the employer
employed fewer than 15 employees, not including family members, at
any time during the preceding calendar year.
(c) Each employee is entitled to carry over not more than
the number of hours specified in Subsection (b) of unused paid sick
leave from the current calendar year to the following calendar year
unless the employer elects to make paid sick leave available at the
beginning of a year as provided by Section 83.005(c).
(d) Sick leave hours carried over from a previous calendar
year must be immediately available to the employee in the following
calendar year.
Sec. 83.005. ENTITLEMENT TO USE PAID SICK LEAVE;
LIMITATIONS. (a) An employee is entitled to use accrued paid sick
leave under this chapter 60 calendar days after the date of hire,
unless the employer agrees to an earlier date.
(b) An employee is not entitled to use accrued paid sick
leave under this chapter on more than eight calendar days in any
calendar year.
(c) An employer may make immediately available to an
employee at the beginning of a year, quarter, or other period the
entire amount of paid sick leave that the employee is expected to
accrue during the year, quarter, or other period.
(d) At the employer's discretion, an employer may loan paid
sick leave time to an employee in advance of accrual by the
employee.
(e) On the mutual consent of the employee and employer, an
employee who chooses to work additional hours or shifts during the
same or following pay period, instead of hours or shifts missed,
does not use accrued paid sick leave. An employer may establish
incentives to encourage employees to work additional hours or
shifts as provided by this subsection instead of using accrued paid
sick leave.
(f) Unless an employee policy or collective bargaining
agreement provides for the payment of accrued fringe benefits on
termination, an employee is not entitled to payment of unused
accrued paid sick leave under this chapter on termination of
employment.
Sec. 83.006. PAY RATE FOR SICK LEAVE. Each employer shall
pay each employee for paid sick leave taken at a pay rate equal to
the normal hourly wage for that employee. The employee's normal
hourly wage may not be less than the amount required by Section
62.051.
Sec. 83.007. USE OF PAID SICK LEAVE. (a) An employee may
use paid sick leave accrued under this chapter if:
(1) the employee is ill, is injured, or has an
appointment with a health care provider;
(2) it is necessary for the employee to:
(A) care for a family member who is ill or
injured; or
(B) accompany a family member to an appointment
with a health care provider; or
(3) the employee or the employee's family member is a
victim of family violence, sexual assault, or stalking and the
employee or the family member needs to:
(A) receive medical attention;
(B) relocate the employee's or the family
member's residence;
(C) receive services from a victim services
organization; or
(D) participate in a legal proceeding or
court-ordered requirement relating to the family violence, sexual
assault, or stalking.
(b) An employer may adopt a reasonable procedure to verify
that the use of paid sick leave by an employee who uses the leave for
more than three consecutive work days meets the requirements of
this section.
(c) An employer may not require an employee to find another
employee to work during the time the employee intends to use paid
sick leave as a condition of using paid sick leave.
Sec. 83.008. NOTICE TO EMPLOYER. (a) If an employee's need
to use paid sick leave under this chapter is foreseeable, an
employer may require advance notice of the intention to use paid
sick leave.
(b) If an employee's need for paid sick leave is not
foreseeable, an employer may require the employee to give notice of
the intention to use paid sick leave under this chapter as soon as
practicable.
Sec. 83.009. EMPLOYER STATEMENT. (a) At least monthly, an
employer shall provide to each employee an electronic or written
statement that includes an accounting of the paid sick leave taken
by the employee and the current amount of paid sick leave available
to the employee.
(b) An employer shall retain records that document the
amount of paid sick leave accrued and taken by each employee. The
records must be maintained for the applicable period of time
required by 29 C.F.R. Part 516, Subpart A.
(c) This section does not create a new requirement for a
certified payroll.
Sec. 83.010. NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES. (a) An employer shall
include in the employer's employee handbook a notice containing an
employee's rights and remedies relating to paid sick leave required
by this chapter.
(b) This section does not require an employer to create an
employee handbook.
(c) An employer shall display in a conspicuous place,
accessible to employees, at the employer's place of business a
notice that describes the requirements of this chapter. The
commission by rule shall prescribe the form and content of the
notice.
Sec. 83.011. EMPLOYER COMPLIANCE. An employer is in
compliance with this chapter if the employer offers paid leave
that:
(1) may be used for the purposes described by Section
83.007; and
(2) is accrued at a rate equal to or greater than the
rate described by Section 83.004.
Sec. 83.012. BREAK IN SERVICE. (a) Termination of an
employee's employment by an employer, regardless of whether
voluntary or involuntary, is considered a break in service for
purposes of this chapter.
(b) An employee who is subsequently rehired by the employer
following a break in service:
(1) begins to accrue paid sick leave under this
chapter; and
(2) is not entitled to any unused hours of paid sick
leave that accrued before the employee's break in service, unless
the employee is rehired within six months of separation or the
employer agrees to reinstate all of the employee's previously
accrued paid sick leave.
Sec. 83.013. TRANSFER OF EMPLOYEE. (a) The transfer of an
employee to a separate division, entity, or location of the same
employer is not considered to be a break in service for purposes of
this chapter.
(b) Following a transfer described by Subsection (a), the
transferred employee is entitled to:
(1) retain all accrued paid sick leave under this
chapter; and
(2) immediately access the retained paid sick leave
without any waiting period.
Sec. 83.014. SUCCESSOR EMPLOYER. If an employer succeeds
or takes the place of an existing employer, employees of the former
employer who are employed by the successor are entitled to:
(1) retain all accrued paid sick leave under this
chapter; and
(2) immediately access the retained paid sick leave
without any waiting period.
Sec. 83.015. LIMITATIONS OF CHAPTER. This chapter does
not:
(1) prevent an employer from providing more paid sick
leave than is required under this chapter;
(2) prohibit an employer that provides paid leave in
addition to the paid sick leave required under this chapter from
restricting the purposes for which an employee may take that
additional leave; or
(3) diminish any rights provided to any employee under
a collective bargaining agreement.
Sec. 83.016. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS. A
collective bargaining agreement may waive the requirements of this
chapter by clear and unambiguous language within the agreement.
Sec. 83.017. RETALIATION PROHIBITED. An employer may not
take retaliatory personnel action or otherwise discriminate
against an employee because the employee:
(1) requests or uses paid sick leave in accordance
with this chapter; or
(2) files a complaint with the commission alleging the
employer's violation of this chapter.
Sec. 83.018. COMPLAINT; HEARING; ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY.
(a) Any employee aggrieved by a violation of this chapter may file
a claim with the commission in the manner prescribed by Subchapter
D, Chapter 61.
(b) On receipt of a complaint, the commission shall
investigate and dispose of the complaint in the same manner as a
wage claim under Subchapter D, Chapter 61.
(c) An employer who is found by the commission, by a
preponderance of the evidence, to have violated Section 83.017 is
liable to the commission for an administrative penalty of $500 for
each violation.
(d) An employer who is found by the commission, by a
preponderance of the evidence, to have violated a provision under
this chapter other than Section 83.017 is liable to the commission
for an administrative penalty of not more than $100 for each
violation.
(e) If the commission finds that an employer violated
Section 83.017, the commission shall award to the employee all
appropriate relief, including payment for used paid sick leave,
rehiring or reinstatement to the employee's previous job, payment
of back wages, and reestablishment of employee benefits for which
the employee otherwise would have been eligible if the employee had
not been subject to retaliatory personnel action or other
discrimination.
(f) A complaint under this section must be brought not later
than the second anniversary of the date of the violation.
Sec. 83.019. INFORMATION FROM AND OUTREACH BY COMMISSION.
(a) The commission shall make available to the public on the
commission's Internet website information regarding:
(1) the requirements of and the rights and remedies
under this chapter; and
(2) best practices for employers with respect to paid
sick leave.
(b) The commission may conduct additional public outreach
efforts to inform employees and the public about this chapter.
SECTION 2. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies to
an employee hired on or after January 1, 2025. For an employee
hired before January 1, 2025, paid sick leave under Chapter 83,
Labor Code, as added by this Act, begins to accrue on that date, and
the employee may begin to use the paid sick leave 90 calendar days
after that date, unless the employer agrees to an earlier date.
(b) Chapter 83, Labor Code, as added by this Act, does not
preempt or override the terms of any collective bargaining
agreement effective before January 1, 2025.
SECTION 3. Not later than September 1, 2024, the Texas
Workforce Commission shall:
(1) prescribe the form and content of the notice
required by Section 83.010(c), Labor Code, as added by this Act;
(2) post on the commission's Internet website the
information required by Section 83.019(a), Labor Code, as added by
this Act; and
(3) adopt rules necessary to implement Chapter 83,
Labor Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 4. Except as provided by Section 3 of this Act, this
Act takes effect January 1, 2025.