Bill Text: TX HB1925 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to employer retaliation against employees who seek recovery of unpaid wages and procedures in wage claim hearings conducted by the Texas Workforce Commission.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-03-13 - Referred to Business & Industry [HB1925 Detail]

Download: Texas-2017-HB1925-Introduced.html

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85R7755 SMT-F
By: Rodriguez of Travis H.B. No. 1925

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to employer retaliation against employees who seek
recovery of unpaid wages and procedures in wage claim hearings
conducted by the Texas Workforce Commission.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 61, Labor Code, is amended
by adding Sections 61.021 and 61.022 to read as follows:
Sec. 61.021. EMPLOYER RETALIATION PROHIBITED. An employer
may not suspend or terminate the employment of or in any other
manner discipline, discriminate against, or retaliate against an
employee who in good faith seeks to recover wages owed to the
employee by:
(1) filing a complaint with a governmental entity;
(2) seeking or accepting the assistance of a nonprofit
organization, an employee rights organization, or an attorney;
(3) exercising or attempting to exercise a right or
remedy granted to the employee by a contract, local ordinance or
order, or federal or state law; or
(4) filing a wage claim under Subchapter D.
Sec. 61.022. COMPLAINTS REGARDING EMPLOYER RETALIATION.
(a) A person who has reason to believe that an employer has
violated Section 61.021 may file a complaint with the commission.
(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. The commission may incorporate the
investigation into any ongoing investigation of an underlying wage
claim filed by the employee, if applicable.
(c) The commission shall ensure that information regarding
the complaint process is available on the commission's Internet
website.
SECTION 2. Section 61.053(a), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) If the commission examiner, a wage claim appeal
tribunal, or the commission determines that an employer acted in
bad faith in not paying wages as required by this chapter, the
examiner, tribunal, or commission, in addition to ordering the
payment of the wages, shall [may] assess an administrative penalty
against the employer.
SECTION 3. Subchapter D, Chapter 61, Labor Code, is amended
by adding Section 61.0531 to read as follows:
Sec. 61.0531. RETALIATION; DAMAGES. (a) If after an
investigation of a complaint under Section 61.022 the commission
examiner, a wage claim appeal tribunal, or the commission
determines that an employer violated Section 61.021, the examiner,
tribunal, or commission shall order the employer to pay to the
employee damages in an amount equal to the greater of $1,000 or the
amount of wages owed to the employee.
(b) Damages under Subsection (a) are in addition to any
payment of wages ordered under this subchapter.
SECTION 4. The heading to Section 61.058, Labor Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 61.058. HEARING PROCEDURES; PRESUMPTION.
SECTION 5. Section 61.058, Labor Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (c) and (d) to read
as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsections (c) and (d), a [A]
hearing conducted under this subchapter is subject to the rules and
hearings procedures used by the commission in the determination of
a claim for unemployment compensation benefits.
(c) In a hearing under this subchapter, an employer's
failure to comply with Section 62.003 or the recordkeeping
requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C.
Section 201 et seq.) applicable to an employee creates a rebuttable
presumption that the employee's hours worked, pay rate, and
earnings are equal to those amounts provided in the employee's
testimony or records presented at the hearing.
(d) A presumption under Subsection (c) may be rebutted by
clear and convincing evidence provided by the employer of the
employee's hours worked, pay rate, and earnings.
SECTION 6. Not later than December 1, 2017, the Texas
Workforce Commission shall adopt rules necessary to implement
Section 61.022, Labor Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 7. Sections 61.021 and 61.022, Labor Code, as added
by this Act, apply only to an adverse employment action that is
taken by an employer against an employee on or after the effective
date of this Act. An adverse employment action taken before that
date is governed by the law in effect on the date the action was
taken, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 8. Section 61.0531, Labor Code, as added by this
Act, applies only to conduct that occurs on or after the effective
date of this Act. Conduct that occurs before that date is governed
by the law in effect on the date the conduct occurred, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 9. Section 61.058, Labor Code, as amended by this
Act, applies only to a hearing that commences on or after the
effective date of this Act. A hearing that commences before that
date is governed by the law in effect on the date the hearing
commenced, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.