By: Collier	H.B. No. 3483

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to requiring certain employers to provide paid leave to
	employees; authorizing 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 LEAVE
	Sec. 83.001.  DEFINITION.  (a)  In this chapter,
	"commission" means the Texas Workforce Commission.
	(b)  In this chapter, "employer" means a person who is
	engaged in an industry affecting commerce and who has 50 or more
	employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks
	in the current or preceding calendar year; but does not include the
	following:
	(1)  State of Texas including any State agency as
	defined in Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code Section 21.002 (14)
	(A), (B), and (C);
	(2)  United State of America including any Federal
	agency;
	(3)  Political subdivision as defined in Chapter 21 of
	the Texas Labor Code Section 21.002 (12); and
	(4)  Any non-profit charitable or religious
	organization exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the
	Internal Revenue Code.
	(c)  In this chapter, "employee" means an individual
	employed by an employer, but does not include the following:
	(1)  An individual covered under Title 45, U.S.C.
	Chapter 11, Sec. 351(d) and (e) of the federal Railroad
	Unemployment Insurance Act;
	(2)  An individual covered under Title 45, U.S.C.
	Chapter 8, Subchapter I, Sec. 151(fifth) and Subchapter II, Sec.
	181 of the federal Railway Labor Act;
	(3)  Unpaid volunteers;
	(4)  Independent contractors;
	(5)  A participant in a work-study program that
	provides students in secondary or post-secondary educational
	institutions with employment opportunities for financial or
	vocational training; and
	(6)  Individuals employed by their parent, spouse, or
	child.
	Sec. 83.002.  PAID LEAVE REQUIRED.  (a)  Each employer shall
	provide paid leave annually to each employee in this state under the
	terms of this chapter.
	(b)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a), an employer with at
	least 50 but not more than 75 employees is not required to provide
	paid leave under this chapter until the second anniversary of the
	date the employer hires the employer's first employee.
	Sec. 83.003.  PAID LEAVE ACCRUAL AND CARRYOVER.  (a)  Paid
	leave under this chapter accrues beginning on the date of hire:
	(1)  at a rate of one hour of paid leave for each 30
	hours worked by an employee; and
	(2)  up to a maximum of 40 hours per calendar year.
	(b)  Each employee is entitled to carry over not more than 40
	unused accrued hours of paid leave from the current calendar year to
	the following calendar year unless the employer elects to pay the
	employee for any unused paid leave at the end of the year at the rate
	described by Section 83.006.
	(c)  Leave hours carried over from a previous calendar year
	must be immediately available to the employee in the following
	calendar year.
	Sec. 83.004.  ENTITLEMENT TO USE PAID LEAVE; LIMITATIONS.
	(a)  An employee is entitled to use accrued paid leave under this
	chapter 90 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 leave
	under this chapter if the employee did not work an average of 18 or
	more hours a week for the employer in the most recent complete
	calendar year.
	(c)  An employee is not entitled to use more than 40 hours of
	accrued paid leave under this chapter in any calendar year.
	(d)  An employer may make immediately available to an
	employee at the beginning of a year, quarter, or other period the
	entire amount of paid leave that the employee is expected to accrue
	during the year, quarter, or other period.
	(e)  At the employer's discretion, an employer may loan paid
	leave time to an employee in advance of accrual by the employee.
	(f)  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 leave.
	(g)  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 leave under this chapter on termination of employment.
	Sec. 83.005.  EMPLOYER COMPLIANCE.  (a)  An employer is
	considered to be in compliance with this chapter if the employer
	offers one or more other types of paid leave that:
	(1)  may be used for any purpose; and
	(2)  is accrued at a rate equal to or greater than the
	rate described by Section 83.003.
	(b)  For the purposes of this section, other types of paid
	leave include paid vacation, personal days, and paid time off.
	Sec. 83.006.  PAY RATE FOR LEAVE.  (a)  Each employer shall
	pay each employee for paid leave time taken at a pay rate equal to
	the normal hourly wage for that employee.
	(b)  For any employee whose hourly wage varies depending on
	the work performed by the employee, the normal hourly wage is
	considered to be the average hourly wage of the employee in the pay
	period preceding the pay period in which the employee uses paid
	leave.
	(c)  If an employee receives gratuity in the course of
	employment to the extent that the gratuity is considered wages in
	the computation of taxes under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (26
	U.S.C. Section 3301 et seq.), the employee's normal hourly wage
	shall include the projected average gratuity for an hour of
	service.
	(d)  If an employee is paid in a manner other than on an
	hourly basis, the employee's normal hourly wage shall be computed
	by calculating the employee's average weekly wage in the manner
	provided by Subchapter C, Chapter 408, and dividing that number by
	the average number of hours the employee works in a week.
	(e)  If the employee's normal hourly wage cannot be
	determined, the employer shall pay the employee for leave under
	this chapter at an average hourly wage for this state, determined by
	the commission based on the average weekly wage in covered
	employment in this state under Section 207.002(c).
	Sec. 83.007.  USE OF PAID LEAVE. An employee may use paid
	leave accrued under this chapter for any purpose, and is not
	required to disclose the reason for taking leave to the employer.
	Sec. 83.008.  NOTICE TO EMPLOYER.  (a)  If an employee's need
	to use paid leave under this chapter is foreseeable, an employer may
	require advance notice of the intention to use paid leave not more
	than seven days before the date the leave is to begin.
	(b)  If an employee's need for paid leave is not foreseeable,
	an employer may require the employee to give notice of the intention
	to use paid leave under this chapter as soon as practicable.
	Sec. 83.009.  NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES.  (a)  Each employer
	subject to this chapter shall, at the time of hiring, provide notice
	in both English and Spanish to each employee:
	(1)  of the employee's entitlement to paid leave, the
	amount of paid leave provided to employees, and the terms under
	which paid leave may be used under this chapter;
	(2)  that retaliation by the employer against the
	employee for requesting or using paid leave to which the employee is
	entitled is prohibited; and
	(3)  that the employee has a right to file a complaint
	with the commission or bring a civil action for damages for any
	violation of this chapter.
	(b)  An employer may comply with this section by displaying a
	poster in a conspicuous place, accessible to employees, at the
	employer's place of business that contains the information required
	by this section in both English and Spanish.
	(c)  The notice under this section must also be provided in a
	language other than English or Spanish if that language is the first
	language spoken by at least 30 percent of the employer's workforce.
	(d)  The commission may adopt rules to establish additional
	requirements concerning the means by which employers provide notice
	required under this section.
	Sec. 83.010.  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 leave under this chapter;
	and
	(2)  is not entitled to any unused hours of paid leave
	that had accrued before the employee's break in service, unless the
	employee is rehired within 30 days of separation or the employer
	agrees to reinstate some or all of the employee's previously
	accrued paid leave.
	Sec. 83.011.  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 leave under this chapter;
	and
	(2)  immediately access the retained paid leave time
	without any waiting period.
	Sec. 83.012.  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 leave under this chapter;
	and
	(2)  immediately access the retained paid leave time
	without any waiting period.
	Sec. 83.013.  LIMITATIONS OF CHAPTER.  This chapter does
	not:
	(1)  prevent an employer from providing more paid leave
	than is required under this chapter;
	(2)  prohibit an employer that provides paid leave in
	addition to the paid 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. 83.014.  COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS.  A
	collective bargaining agreement may waive the requirements of this
	chapter by clear and unambiguous language within the agreement.
	Sec. 83.015.  RETALIATION PROHIBITED. An employer may not
	take retaliatory personnel action or otherwise discriminate
	against an employee because the employee:
	(1)  requests or uses paid leave in accordance with
	this chapter; or
	(2)  files a complaint with the commission alleging the
	employer's violation of this chapter.
	Sec. 83.016.  COMPLAINT; HEARING; 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 83.015 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 83.015 is liable to the commission
	for an administrative penalty of not more than $100 for each
	violation.
	(e)  The commission may award the employee all appropriate
	relief, including payment for used paid leave, rehiring or
	reinstatement to the employee's previous job, payment of back
	wages, and reestablishment of employee benefits to which the
	employee otherwise would have been eligible if the employee had not
	been subject to retaliatory personnel action or other
	discrimination.
	(f)  A party may appeal a final decision of the commission by
	filing suit in district court.
	Sec. 83.017.  CIVIL ACTION BY EMPLOYEE.  (a)  An employee
	aggrieved by a violation of this chapter may bring a civil action to
	enforce rights protected by this chapter, including an action for
	appropriate injunctive relief, in the district court in the county
	in which the alleged violation occurred or in which the alleged
	violator's residence or principal place of business is located.
	(b)  An action under this section must be brought not later
	than the third anniversary of the date of the violation.
	(c)  The employer of an employee who prevails in a civil
	action under this section is liable to the affected employee for
	damages equal to the amount of any wages, salary, employment
	benefits, or other compensation denied or lost to the employee by
	reason of the violation or, if wages, salary, employment benefits,
	or other compensation has not been denied or lost, any actual
	monetary losses sustained by the employee as a direct result of the
	violation.
	(d)  An employer described by Subsection (c) is also liable
	for equitable relief as appropriate, including reinstatement and
	promotion.
	(e)  In addition to any judgment awarded to an employee, the
	court may require the employer to pay reasonable attorney's fees,
	reasonable expert witness fees, and other costs.
	SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies
	to an employee hired on or after January 1, 2019.  For an employee
	hired before January 1, 2019, paid 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 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, 2019.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect January 1, 2019.