By Garcia H.B. No. 170 Line and page numbers may not match official copy. Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E. A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1-1 AN ACT 1-2 relating to prohibiting an employer who does not provide workers' 1-3 compensation insurance coverage from engaging in certain 1-4 discrimination against an employee who sustains an 1-5 employment-related injury. 1-6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: 1-7 SECTION 1. Section 451.001, Labor Code, is amended to read 1-8 as follows: 1-9 Sec. 451.001. DISCRIMINATION AGAINST EMPLOYEES PROHIBITED. 1-10 (a) A person may not discharge or in any other manner discriminate 1-11 against an employee because the employee has: 1-12 (1) filed a workers' compensation claim in good faith; 1-13 (2) hired a lawyer to represent the employee in a 1-14 claim; chose their own doctor 1-15 (3) instituted or caused to be instituted in good 1-16 faith a proceeding under Subtitle A; or 1-17 (4) testified or is about to testify in a proceeding 1-18 under Subtitle A. 1-19 (b) An employer who does not provide workers' compensation 1-20 insurance coverage may not discharge or in any other manner 1-21 discriminate against an employee who sustains an injury that would 2-1 be a compensable injury under Subtitle A if the employer provided 2-2 workers' compensation insurance coverage because the employee has: 2-3 (1) instituted or caused to be instituted an action 2-4 against the employer based on the employment-related injury; 2-5 (2) hired a lawyer to represent the employee in an 2-6 action described by Subdivision (1); or chose their own doctor 2-7 (3) testified or is about to testify in an action 2-8 described by Subdivision (1). 2-9 SECTION 2. Section 451.001, Labor Code, as amended by this 2-10 Act, applies only to a cause of action that accrues on or after 2-11 the effective date of this Act. A cause of action that accrues 2-12 before that date is governed by the law as it existed immediately 2-13 before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in 2-14 effect for that purpose. 2-15 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999. 2-16 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the 2-17 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an 2-18 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the 2-19 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several 2-20 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.