Bill Text: TX SB473 | 2017-2018 | 85th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to paid rest breaks for construction employees of construction contractors and subcontractors; providing an administrative penalty.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-04-11 - Left pending in committee [SB473 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-SB473-Introduced.html
| 85R3743 JSC-D | ||
| By: Rodríguez, Garcia | S.B. No. 473 | |
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| relating to paid rest breaks for construction employees of | ||
| construction contractors and subcontractors; providing an | ||
| administrative penalty. | ||
| 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. PAID REST BREAKS FOR CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYEES | ||
| Sec. 83.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: | ||
| (1) "Commission" means the Texas Workforce | ||
| Commission. | ||
| (2) "Construction employee" means an individual paid | ||
| by a construction employer to perform general construction work or | ||
| services. | ||
| (3) "Construction employer" means a contractor or | ||
| subcontractor who employs one or more construction employees in | ||
| this state. | ||
| (4) "Contractor" means a person, firm, or corporation | ||
| contracting for general construction. | ||
| (5) "General construction" means the: | ||
| (A) erection of or preparation to erect a | ||
| structure; | ||
| (B) remodeling, extension, repair, or demolition | ||
| of a structure; or | ||
| (C) other improvement of real property or a | ||
| structure related to real property. | ||
| (6) "Rest break" means a break from work during work | ||
| hours. The term does not include a regular meal break period | ||
| provided to a construction employee by a construction employer. | ||
| (7) "Subcontractor" means a person, firm, or | ||
| corporation contracting with a contractor for general | ||
| construction. | ||
| Sec. 83.002. PAID REST BREAKS REQUIRED. (a) A construction | ||
| employer shall provide at least a 15-minute paid rest break for | ||
| every four hours of work to each construction employee. | ||
| (b) The construction employer may not require the paid rest | ||
| break to be taken as part of a separate meal break. | ||
| Sec. 83.003. NOTICE TO CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYEES. (a) Each | ||
| construction employer shall, at the time of hiring, provide notice | ||
| in both English and Spanish to each construction employee: | ||
| (1) of the employee's entitlement to paid rest breaks | ||
| under this chapter; | ||
| (2) that retaliation by the employer against the | ||
| employee for requesting or taking paid rest breaks to which the | ||
| employee is entitled under this chapter is prohibited; and | ||
| (3) that the employee has a right to file a complaint | ||
| with the commission for any violation of this chapter. | ||
| (b) A construction employer may comply with this section by | ||
| displaying a poster in a conspicuous place, accessible to | ||
| construction employees, at the employer's place of business and at | ||
| the applicable construction work site that contains the information | ||
| required by this section in both English and Spanish. | ||
| (c) The commission by rule shall prescribe the design and | ||
| content of the sign described by Subsection (b). | ||
| Sec. 83.004. RETALIATION PROHIBITED. A construction | ||
| employer may not take retaliatory personnel action or otherwise | ||
| discriminate against a construction employee because the employee: | ||
| (1) requests or takes paid rest breaks in accordance | ||
| with this chapter; or | ||
| (2) files a complaint with the commission alleging the | ||
| employer's violation of this chapter. | ||
| Sec. 83.005. COMPLAINT; HEARING; PENALTY. (a) Any | ||
| construction employee aggrieved by a violation of this chapter may | ||
| file a claim with the commission in the manner prescribed by | ||
| Subchapter D, Chapter 61. Except as otherwise provided by this | ||
| chapter, the commission shall investigate and dispose of the | ||
| complaint in the same manner as a wage claim under Subchapter D, | ||
| Chapter 61. | ||
| (b) A construction employer that violates any applicable | ||
| requirement of this chapter must be provided with an opportunity to | ||
| correct the violation under Subsection (d). | ||
| (c) The commission shall notify the construction employer | ||
| if the commission determines that the employer has violated this | ||
| chapter. | ||
| (d) If the construction employer corrects the violation not | ||
| later than the 30th business day after the date the employer | ||
| receives notice under Subsection (c), the commission may not assess | ||
| an administrative penalty against the employer. | ||
| (e) The commission may assess an administrative penalty | ||
| against a construction employer for a violation of this chapter | ||
| only if the employer fails to correct the violation before the 31st | ||
| business day after the date the employer receives notice that the | ||
| employer has violated this chapter. | ||
| (f) The commission may award the construction employee all | ||
| appropriate relief, including 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. | ||
| (g) A party may appeal a final decision of the commission in | ||
| the manner prescribed by Section 61.062. | ||
| SECTION 2. Chapter 83, Labor Code, as added by this Act, | ||
| applies only to a violation that occurs on or after the effective | ||
| date of this Act. | ||
| SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. | ||
