By: Greenberg H.B. No. 1560 73R3577 JMM-D A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to employment discrimination based on an employee's 1-3 weight. 1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-5 SECTION 1. Section 1.04, Commission on Human Rights Act 1-6 (Article 5221k, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by 1-7 adding Subsection (d) to read as follows: 1-8 (d) An employee's weight may not be considered a bona fide 1-9 occupational qualification for any purpose under this Act unless an 1-10 employer can demonstrate, on the basis of a medical examination 1-11 conducted by a physician approved by both the employer and the 1-12 employee, that the employee's weight is reasonably likely to 1-13 prevent the employee from performing the employee's duties safely 1-14 and efficiently. 1-15 SECTION 2. Section 4.02, Commission on Human Rights Act 1-16 (Article 5221k, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read 1-17 as follows: 1-18 Sec. 4.02. Local Commissions. A political subdivision or 1-19 two or more political subdivisions acting jointly may create a 1-20 local commission to promote the purposes of this Act and to secure 1-21 for all individuals within the jurisdiction of the political 1-22 subdivision or subdivisions freedom from discrimination because of 1-23 race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, weight, or 1-24 age and may appropriate funds for the expenses of the local 2-1 commission. 2-2 SECTION 3. Section 4.04(a), Commission on Human Rights Act 2-3 (Article 5221k, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read 2-4 as follows: 2-5 (a) The state commission shall refer a complaint filed with 2-6 it to a local commission with the necessary investigatory and 2-7 conciliatory powers if the complaint concerns discrimination in 2-8 employment because of race, color, disability, religion, sex, 2-9 national origin, weight, or age, and: 2-10 (1) the complaint has been referred to the state 2-11 commission by the federal government; or 2-12 (2) the jurisdiction over the subject matter of the 2-13 complaint has been deferred to the state commission by the federal 2-14 government. 2-15 SECTION 4. Section 5.01, Commission on Human Rights Act 2-16 (Article 5221k, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read 2-17 as follows: 2-18 Sec. 5.01. Employers. It is an unlawful employment practice 2-19 for an employer: 2-20 (1) to fail or refuse to hire or to discharge an 2-21 individual or otherwise to discriminate against an individual with 2-22 respect to compensation or the terms, conditions, or privileges of 2-23 employment because of race, color, disability, religion, sex, 2-24 national origin, weight, or age; or 2-25 (2) to limit, segregate, or classify an employee or 2-26 applicant for employment in a way that would deprive or tend to 2-27 deprive an individual of employment opportunities or otherwise 3-1 adversely affect the status of an employee because of race, color, 3-2 disability, religion, sex, national origin, weight, or age. 3-3 SECTION 5. Section 5.02, Commission on Human Rights Act 3-4 (Article 5221k, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read 3-5 as follows: 3-6 Sec. 5.02. Employment Agencies. It is an unlawful 3-7 employment practice for an employment agency to fail or refuse to 3-8 refer for employment or otherwise to discriminate against an 3-9 individual because of race, color, disability, religion, sex, 3-10 national origin, weight, or age, or to classify or refer for 3-11 employment an individual on the basis of race, color, disability, 3-12 religion, sex, national origin, weight, or age. 3-13 SECTION 6. Section 5.03, Commission on Human Rights Act 3-14 (Article 5221k, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read 3-15 as follows: 3-16 Sec. 5.03. Labor Organizations. It is an unlawful 3-17 employment practice for a labor organization: 3-18 (1) to exclude or to expel from membership or 3-19 otherwise to discriminate against an individual because of race, 3-20 color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, weight, or age; 3-21 (2) to limit, segregate, or classify members or 3-22 applicants for membership or to classify or to fail or refuse to 3-23 refer for employment an individual because of race, color, 3-24 disability, religion, sex, national origin, weight, or age in a 3-25 way: 3-26 (A) that would deprive or tend to deprive an 3-27 individual of employment opportunities; or 4-1 (B) that would limit employment opportunities or 4-2 otherwise adversely affect the status of an employee or of an 4-3 applicant for employment; or 4-4 (3) that would cause or attempt to cause an employer 4-5 to violate this article. 4-6 SECTION 7. Section 5.04(a), Commission on Human Rights Act 4-7 (Article 5221k, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read 4-8 as follows: 4-9 (a) Unless the training or retraining opportunities or 4-10 programs are provided under an affirmative action plan approved 4-11 according to federal law, rule, or order, it is an unlawful 4-12 employment practice for an employer, labor organization, or joint 4-13 labor-management committee controlling an apprenticeship, 4-14 on-the-job, or other training or retraining program to discriminate 4-15 against an individual because of disability, age, race, color, 4-16 religion, sex, weight, or national origin in admission to or 4-17 participation in a program established to provide apprenticeship, 4-18 on-the-job, or other training or retraining opportunities. 4-19 SECTION 8. Section 5.05(b), Commission on Human Rights Act 4-20 (Article 5221k, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read 4-21 as follows: 4-22 (b) Unless disability, religion, sex, national origin, 4-23 weight, or age is a bona fide occupational qualification, it is an 4-24 unlawful employment practice for an employer, labor organization, 4-25 employment agency, or joint labor-management committee controlling 4-26 an apprenticeship, on-the-job, or other training or retraining 4-27 program to print or publish or cause to be printed or published a 5-1 notice or advertisement relating to employment indicating a 5-2 preference, limitation, specification, or discrimination based on 5-3 race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, weight, or 5-4 age, if the notice or advertisement concerns an employee's status, 5-5 employment, or admission to or membership or participation in a 5-6 labor union or an apprenticeship, on-the-job, or other training or 5-7 retraining program. 5-8 SECTION 9. Section 5.07(a), Commission on Human Rights Act 5-9 (Article 5221k, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read 5-10 as follows: 5-11 (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, it 5-12 is not an unlawful employment practice: 5-13 (1) for an employer to hire and to employ employees, 5-14 for an employment agency to classify or refer for employment an 5-15 individual, for a labor organization to classify its members or to 5-16 classify or refer for employment an individual, or for an employer, 5-17 labor organization, or joint labor-management committee controlling 5-18 an apprenticeship, on-the-job, or other training or retraining 5-19 program to admit or employ an individual in its program, on the 5-20 basis of disability, religion, sex, national origin, weight, or 5-21 age, if disability, religion, sex, national origin, weight, or age 5-22 is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to 5-23 the normal operation of the particular business or enterprise; 5-24 (2) for a religious corporation, association, society, 5-25 or educational institution or an educational organization operated, 5-26 supervised, or controlled, in whole or in substantial part, by a 5-27 religious corporation, association, or society to limit employment 6-1 or give preference to members of the same religion; 6-2 (3) for an employer to apply different standards of 6-3 compensation or different terms, conditions, or privileges of 6-4 employment under a bona fide seniority system, bona fide merit 6-5 system, or a bona fide employee benefit plan such as a retirement, 6-6 pension, or insurance plan, which is not a subterfuge to evade this 6-7 Act, or under a system that measures earnings by quantity or 6-8 quality of production if those different standards are not 6-9 discriminatory on the basis of race, color, disability, religion, 6-10 sex, national origin, weight, or age, except that no employee 6-11 benefit plan may excuse a failure to hire on the basis of age and 6-12 no seniority or employee benefit plan may require or permit 6-13 involuntary retirement on the basis of age; 6-14 (4) for an employer to apply to employees who work in 6-15 different locations different standards of compensation or 6-16 different terms, conditions, or privileges of employment if those 6-17 different standards are not discriminatory on the basis of race, 6-18 color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, weight, or age; 6-19 (5) for an employer to impose minimum or maximum age 6-20 requirements for peace officers or fire fighters; 6-21 (6) for a public school official to adopt or implement 6-22 a plan reasonably designed to end discriminatory school practices; 6-23 or 6-24 (7) for an employer to engage in any practice that has 6-25 a discriminatory effect and that would otherwise be prohibited by 6-26 this Act if the employer establishes that the practice is not 6-27 intentionally devised or operated to contravene the prohibitions of 7-1 this Act and is justified by business necessity. 7-2 SECTION 10. Section 5.09, Commission on Human Rights Act 7-3 (Article 5221k, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read 7-4 as follows: 7-5 Sec. 5.09. Imbalance Plans. This Act may not be interpreted 7-6 to require a person subject to this Act to grant preferential 7-7 treatment to an individual or to a group on the basis of the race, 7-8 color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, weight, or age 7-9 of that individual or group because an imbalance exists between the 7-10 total number or percentage of persons of that individual's or 7-11 group's race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, 7-12 weight, or age employed by an employer, referred or classified for 7-13 employment by an employment agency or labor organization, admitted 7-14 to membership or classified by a labor organization, or admitted to 7-15 or employed in any apprenticeship, on-the-job, or other training or 7-16 retraining program, and the total number or percentage of persons 7-17 of that race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, 7-18 weight, or age in any community, this state, region, or other area, 7-19 or in the available work force in any community, this state, 7-20 region, or other area. 7-21 SECTION 11. The importance of this legislation and the 7-22 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 7-23 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 7-24 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 7-25 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended, 7-26 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its 7-27 passage, and it is so enacted.