By Burnam H.B. No. 303
77R1992 KSD-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the minimum wage.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Section 62.002, Labor Code, is amended to read as
1-5 follows:
1-6 Sec. 62.002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter, unless the
1-7 context requires a different definition:
1-8 (1) "Agricultural piece rate worker" means a person:
1-9 (A) who is employed as a hand harvest laborer in
1-10 agriculture; and
1-11 (B) whose pay is computed on a piece rate in an
1-12 operation for which the pay has been and is customarily and
1-13 generally recognized as having been computed on a piece rate in the
1-14 region of employment.
1-15 (2) "Agriculture" includes:
1-16 (A) farming in all its branches;
1-17 (B) cultivating and tilling the soil;
1-18 (C) dairying;
1-19 (D) producing, cultivating, growing, and
1-20 harvesting an agricultural or horticultural commodity, including a
1-21 commodity defined as an agricultural commodity by Section 15(g),
1-22 Agricultural Marketing Act (12 U.S.C. Section 1141j(g));
1-23 (E) raising livestock, bees, fur-bearing
1-24 animals, or poultry; and
2-1 (F) any practice performed by a farmer or on a
2-2 farm as an incident to or in conjunction with farming operations,
2-3 including:
2-4 (i) forestry or lumber operations;
2-5 (ii) preparation for market; and
2-6 (iii) delivery to storage, market, or a
2-7 carrier for transportation to market.
2-8 (3) "Commission" means the Texas Workforce
2-9 [Employment] Commission.
2-10 (4) "Employ" includes to permit to work.
2-11 (5) "Employee" includes any individual employed by an
2-12 employer.
2-13 (6) "Employer" includes a person acting directly or
2-14 indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an
2-15 employee.
2-16 (7) "Fair market rent" is a fair market rent as
2-17 determined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban
2-18 Development for a one bedroom apartment.
2-19 (8) "Fair market rent area" is the metropolitan area
2-20 or nonmetropolitan county, as determined by the United States
2-21 Department of Housing and Urban Development, in which a fair market
2-22 rent applies.
2-23 (9) "Person" means an individual, partnership,
2-24 association, corporation, business trust, legal representative, or
2-25 any organized group of persons.
2-26 SECTION 2. Section 62.003(b), Labor Code, is amended to read
2-27 as follows:
3-1 (b) An earnings statement must be signed by the employer or
3-2 the employer's agent and must show:
3-3 (1) the name of the employee;
3-4 (2) the rate of pay;
3-5 (3) the total amount of pay earned by the employee
3-6 during the pay period;
3-7 (4) any deduction made from the employee's pay and the
3-8 purpose of the deduction;
3-9 (5) the amount of pay after all deductions are made;
3-10 and
3-11 (6) the total number of:
3-12 (A) hours worked by the employee if the
3-13 employee's pay is computed by the hour; or
3-14 (B) units produced by the employee during the
3-15 pay period if the employee's pay is computed on a piece rate[; and]
3-16 [(7) the words "medical certificate," if the employee
3-17 is paid a wage lower than the applicable minimum wage under Section
3-18 62.055].
3-19 SECTION 3. Section 62.051, Labor Code, is amended to read as
3-20 follows:
3-21 Sec. 62.051. MINIMUM WAGE. (a) Except as provided by
3-22 Section 62.057, an [An] employer shall pay to each employee a wage
3-23 that is not less than the minimum hourly wage described by
3-24 Subsection (b) or the federal minimum hourly wage, whichever wage
3-25 rate is greater [not less than $3.35 an hour, except as provided by
3-26 Sections 62.055 and 62.057].
3-27 (b) An employer shall pay to each employee a minimum hourly
4-1 wage that is not less than the average weekly salary divided by 40.
4-2 (c) In calculating a minimum hourly wage:
4-3 (1) the average weekly salary is the average monthly
4-4 salary divided by 4.3; and
4-5 (2) the average monthly salary is the fair market rent
4-6 divided by .3 for the fair market rent area in which the employer
4-7 is located.
4-8 SECTION 4. Section 62.201, Labor Code, is amended to read as
4-9 follows:
4-10 Sec. 62.201. CIVIL PENALTY. An employer who violates Section
4-11 62.051, 62.052, 62.053, or 62.054[, 62.055, or 62.056] or
4-12 Subchapter C is liable to an affected employee in the amount of the
4-13 unpaid wages plus an additional equal amount as liquidated damages.
4-14 SECTION 5. Sections 62.055 and 62.056, Labor Code, are
4-15 repealed.
4-16 SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.