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Senate Bill 7 |
Senate Author: Middleton et al. |
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Effective: 2-6-24 |
House Sponsor: Leach et al. |
Senate Bill 7 amends the Health and Safety Code to prohibit a private employer from doing the following:
· adopting or enforcing a mandate requiring an employee, contractor, applicant for employment, or applicant for a contract position to be vaccinated against COVID‑19 as a condition of employment or a contract position; or
· taking an adverse action against an employee, contractor, applicant for employment, or applicant for a contract position for a refusal to be vaccinated against COVID‑19.
The bill excepts from the prohibition against taking such an adverse action a health care facility, health care provider, or physician that establishes and enforces a reasonable policy that includes requiring the use of protective medical equipment by an individual who is an employee or contractor of the facility, provider, or physician and who is not vaccinated against COVID‑19 based on the level of risk the individual presents to patients from the individual's routine and direct exposure to patients.
Senate Bill 7 establishes a process by which an employee, contractor, applicant for employment, or applicant for a contract position against whom an employer took an adverse action in violation of the bill's provisions may file a complaint with the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC). Additionally, the bill provides for the following:
· a requirement that TWC conduct an investigation of such a complaint;
· TWC's authority to request that the attorney general bring an action for injunctive relief against the employer; and
· the imposition of a $50,000 administrative penalty on an employer for each violation of the bill, unless the employer takes certain corrective action.