By Harris                                        S.B. No. 167

      75R276 JMM-D                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the offense of failing to pay the wages of an employee.

 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-4           SECTION 1.  Section 61.019, Labor Code, is amended by

 1-5     amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (c) and (d) to read

 1-6     as follows:

 1-7           (b)  An employer commits an offense if the employer:

 1-8                 (1)  intends to avoid payment of wages owed to an

 1-9     employee;

1-10                 (2)  intends to continue to employ the employee; and

1-11                 (3)  fails after demand to pay those wages.

1-12           (c)  An employer commits a separate offense under Subsection

1-13     (b) for each pay period during which the employee earns wages that

1-14     the employer fails to pay.

1-15           (d)  An offense under this section is a felony of the third

1-16     degree.

1-17           SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made to Section 61.019,

1-18     Labor Code, by this Act applies only to an offense committed on or

1-19     after the effective date of this Act.  For purposes of this

1-20     section, an offense is committed before the effective date of this

1-21     Act if any element of the offense occurs before that date.

1-22           (b)  An offense committed before the effective date of this

1-23     Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,

1-24     and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.

 2-1           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

 2-2           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

 2-3     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

 2-4     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 2-5     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 2-6     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.