Bill Text: TX HB88 | 2023 | 88th Legislature 4th Special Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to workplace heat illness prevention, including the creation of a heat illness prevention advisory board; imposing administrative penalties.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-11-08 - Filed [HB88 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HB88-Introduced.html
| By: Flores | H.B. No. 88 | |
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| relating to workplace heat illness prevention, including the | ||
| creation of a heat illness prevention advisory board; imposing | ||
| administrative penalties. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 2, Labor Code, is amended by | ||
| adding Chapter 53 to read as follows: | ||
| CHAPTER 53. WORKPLACE HEAT SAFETY | ||
| Sec. 53.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: | ||
| (1) "Advisory board" means the heat illness prevention | ||
| advisory board established under Section 53.003. | ||
| (2) "Commission" means the Texas Workforce | ||
| Commission. | ||
| (3) "Employer" means a person who employs one or more | ||
| employees. | ||
| (4) "Heat illness" means a serious medical condition | ||
| resulting from the body's inability to cope with a particular heat | ||
| load and includes heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat syncope, and | ||
| heat stroke. | ||
| (5) "Heat safety expert" means an individual who: | ||
| (A) holds a certification or educational degree | ||
| in environmental science, human physiology, medicine, occupational | ||
| safety, public health, or a related field; and | ||
| (B) performs work focused on heat safety in the | ||
| workplace. | ||
| Sec. 53.002. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies to all | ||
| employers in this state, regardless of the location of employment, | ||
| type of employment, or size or type of employer. | ||
| Sec. 53.003. HEAT ILLNESS PREVENTION ADVISORY BOARD. (a) A | ||
| heat illness prevention advisory board is established to assist the | ||
| commission in adopting heat illness prevention standards under this | ||
| chapter. | ||
| (b) The advisory board consists of the following members | ||
| appointed by the commission: | ||
| (1) two members who are heat safety experts; | ||
| (2) two members who are employed as construction | ||
| workers; | ||
| (3) one member who is an employer; | ||
| (4) one member who is a representative of a nonprofit | ||
| organization engaged in worker safety issues; and | ||
| (5) one member who is a representative of construction | ||
| worker labor unions. | ||
| (c) The advisory board shall develop and recommend to the | ||
| commission heat illness prevention standards, consistent with this | ||
| chapter, that are designed to protect employees from heat illness | ||
| in indoor and outdoor worksites. | ||
| Sec. 53.004. HEAT ILLNESS PREVENTION STANDARDS. (a) The | ||
| commission by rule shall adopt heat illness prevention standards. | ||
| In adopting the standards, the commission shall give full | ||
| consideration to the recommendations the advisory board makes under | ||
| Section 53.003(c). | ||
| (b) The heat illness prevention standards must: | ||
| (1) be consistent with the standards and | ||
| recommendations relating to heat and workforce safety contained in | ||
| the Criteria for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Exposure to | ||
| Heat and Hot Environments published by the National Institute for | ||
| Occupational Safety and Health, as those standards and | ||
| recommendations existed on October 1, 2023; and | ||
| (2) include: | ||
| (A) requirements for providing: | ||
| (i) drinking water; | ||
| (ii) access to nearby shade or | ||
| climate-controlled environments, restrooms, and handwashing | ||
| stations; and | ||
| (iii) rest periods; | ||
| (B) standards for effective emergency response | ||
| procedures; | ||
| (C) standards for heat acclimatization; | ||
| (D) training on heat and workforce safety for | ||
| employees and supervisors; and | ||
| (E) other related standards for protecting | ||
| workers from heat illness. | ||
| Sec. 53.005. NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES. (a) Each employer shall | ||
| post in a conspicuous place accessible to employees the notice the | ||
| commission prescribes under Subsection (b) at: | ||
| (1) the employer's place of business; and | ||
| (2) if applicable, the worksite at which employees | ||
| perform job duties for the employer. | ||
| (b) The commission shall prescribe the form and content of | ||
| the employer notice required by Subsection (a) and make the notice | ||
| available on the commission's Internet website. The notice must: | ||
| (1) be in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and any other | ||
| language the commission determines appropriate; and | ||
| (2) outline: | ||
| (A) the heat illness prevention standards the | ||
| commission adopts under this chapter; and | ||
| (B) employees' rights under this chapter. | ||
| Sec. 53.006. EMPLOYEE TRAINING REQUIRED. Each employer | ||
| shall provide training to the employer's employees about the | ||
| commission's heat illness prevention standards as the standards | ||
| relate to employees, supervisors, and employers. The training, | ||
| including any related written materials, must be provided to each | ||
| employee in a language that the employee understands. | ||
| Sec. 53.007. UNLAWFUL EMPLOYMENT PRACTICE. An employer | ||
| commits an unlawful employment practice under this chapter if the | ||
| employer retaliates or discriminates against an employee who: | ||
| (1) experiences heat illness in the workplace; | ||
| (2) reports to the employer an instance of heat | ||
| illness or a violation of this chapter or other applicable | ||
| standards; | ||
| (3) files a complaint with the commission related to a | ||
| violation of this chapter or rules adopted under this chapter; | ||
| (4) files an action related to a violation of this | ||
| chapter or rules adopted under this chapter; or | ||
| (5) testifies, assists, or participates in any manner | ||
| in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under this chapter. | ||
| Sec. 53.008. ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY. The commission shall | ||
| assess an administrative penalty in an amount that is at least | ||
| $1,000 against an employer for each violation of this chapter or a | ||
| rule adopted under this chapter. Each day a violation continues or | ||
| occurs is a separate violation for purposes of imposing a penalty. | ||
| Sec. 53.009. CIVIL LIABILITY. (a) In addition to any | ||
| administrative penalty assessed under this chapter, an employer is | ||
| liable in a civil action for personal injury, death, or other | ||
| damages caused by the employer's failure to comply with the heat | ||
| illness prevention standards the commission adopts. An employee is | ||
| not required to exhaust any applicable administrative remedies | ||
| before filing an action under this section. | ||
| (b) An employee who prevails in an action against an | ||
| employer under this section is entitled to recover from the | ||
| employer court costs and reasonable attorney's fees. | ||
| (c) A court that finds that an employer knowingly violated | ||
| the heat illness prevention standards adopted under this chapter | ||
| shall award exemplary damages in an amount equal to three times the | ||
| amount of compensatory damages awarded to the employee. | ||
| SECTION 2. (a) As soon as practicable after the effective | ||
| date of this Act, but not later than March 1, 2024, the Texas | ||
| Workforce Commission shall appoint the advisory board members to | ||
| the heat illness prevention advisory board established under | ||
| Section 53.003, Labor Code, as added by this Act. | ||
| (b) Not later than May 1, 2024, the heat illness prevention | ||
| advisory board shall submit to the Texas Workforce Commission the | ||
| recommended workplace heat illness prevention standards the board | ||
| develops under Section 53.003(c), Labor Code, as added by this Act. | ||
| (c) Not later than June 1, 2024, the Texas Workforce | ||
| Commission shall: | ||
| (1) adopt heat illness prevention standards as | ||
| required by Section 53.004, Labor Code, as added by this Act; and | ||
| (2) prescribe the employer notice required by Section | ||
| 53.005, Labor Code, as added by this Act. | ||
| SECTION 3. An employer is not required to comply with | ||
| Chapter 53, Labor Code, as added by this Act, before June 1, 2024. | ||
| SECTION 4. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies | ||
| only to an unlawful employment practice that occurs on or after June | ||
| 1, 2024. | ||
| (b) The change in law made by this Act applies only to a | ||
| cause of action that accrues on or after June 1, 2024. | ||
| SECTION 5. This Act takes effect on the 91st day after the | ||
| last day of the legislative session. | ||
