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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to compensatory and punitive damage limits in employment |
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discrimination claims. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 21.2585, Labor Code, is amended by |
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amending Subsection (d) and adding Subsection (d-1) to read as |
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follows: |
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(d) Subject to Subsection (d-1), the [The] sum of the amount |
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of compensatory damages awarded under this section for future |
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pecuniary losses, emotional pain, suffering, inconvenience, mental |
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anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and other nonpecuniary losses |
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and the amount of punitive damages awarded under this section may |
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not exceed, for each complainant: |
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(1) $50,000 in the case of a respondent that has fewer |
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than 101 employees; |
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(2) $100,000 in the case of a respondent that has more |
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than 100 and fewer than 201 employees; |
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(3) $200,000 in the case of a respondent that has more |
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than 200 and fewer than 501 employees; and |
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(4) $300,000 in the case of a respondent that has more |
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than 500 employees. |
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(d-1) When the consumer price index increases with respect |
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to the amount of that index on September 1, 2025, the limits on |
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damages prescribed by Subsection (d) shall be increased by a sum |
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equal to the amount of such limit multiplied by the percentage |
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increase in the consumer price index, as published by the Bureau of |
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Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor, that |
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measures the average changes in prices of goods and services |
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purchased by urban wage earners and clerical workers' families |
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(CPI-W: Seasonally Adjusted U.S. City Average--All Items), |
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between September 1, 2025, and the time at which damages subject to |
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such limits are awarded by final judgment or settlement. |
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SECTION 2. Section 21.2585(d-1), Labor Code, as added by |
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this Act, applies only to a complaint in relation to an unlawful |
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employment practice that occurs on or after the effective date of |
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this Act. A complaint in relation to an unlawful employment |
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practice that occurs before the effective date of this Act is |
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governed by the law in effect on the date the unlawful employment |
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practice occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for |
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that purpose. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |