By Dukes H.B. No. 1269
77R4813 MCK-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to grievance and complaint resolution procedures for
1-3 certain state employees.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 6, Government Code, is amended
1-6 by adding Chapter 668 to read as follows:
1-7 CHAPTER 668. GRIEVANCE AND COMPLAINT RESOLUTION
1-8 PROCEDURES
1-9 Sec. 668.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
1-10 (1) "Aggrieved employee" means an employee of a state
1-11 agency who presents a grievance or a complaint under this chapter.
1-12 (2) "Complaint" means a written expression of
1-13 dissatisfaction presented by an employee regarding:
1-14 (A) compensation;
1-15 (B) work hours; or
1-16 (C) another issue related to employment
1-17 conditions that does not constitute a grievance.
1-18 (3) "Employee" means a person employed either
1-19 full-time or part-time by a state agency who is in a position
1-20 subject to the state position classification plan or an analogous
1-21 classification plan in effect at an institution of higher education
1-22 or who is exempt from a classification plan but compensated at a
1-23 rate not to exceed the amount prescribed by the General
1-24 Appropriations Act for step 1, salary group 21, of the position
2-1 classification salary schedule. The term does not include a
2-2 probationary or seasonal employee.
2-3 (4) "Executive director" means the chief
2-4 administrative officer of a state agency. The term includes the
2-5 president of an institution of higher education.
2-6 (5) "Grievance" means a written expression of
2-7 dissatisfaction presented by an employee regarding the fact that
2-8 the employee has been:
2-9 (A) terminated from employment;
2-10 (B) demoted; or
2-11 (C) suspended without pay.
2-12 (6) "State agency" means a department, commission,
2-13 board, office, or other agency in the executive branch of state
2-14 government created by the constitution or a statute of this state.
2-15 The term includes an institution of higher education as defined by
2-16 Section 61.003, Education Code.
2-17 (7) "Supervisor" means the immediate supervisor of an
2-18 aggrieved employee.
2-19 Sec. 668.002. POLICY; EXISTING RIGHTS UNAFFECTED. (a) An
2-20 employee is entitled to due process under this chapter in the
2-21 review of a decision that affects the employee's working conditions
2-22 or employment and may not be dismissed from the employment without
2-23 cause.
2-24 (b) This chapter does not affect a right existing on
2-25 September 1, 2001, relating to an employee's ability to use an
2-26 established dispute resolution process concerning the employee's:
2-27 (1) wages;
3-1 (2) work hours; or
3-2 (3) other conditions of employment.
3-3 Sec. 668.003. RULES. A state agency by rule shall adopt
3-4 standards and procedures in accordance with this chapter relating
3-5 to the resolution of a grievance or complaint presented by an
3-6 employee of the agency.
3-7 Sec. 668.004. INTERNAL AGENCY PROCEDURE. (a) The executive
3-8 director shall issue a written decision concerning the resolution
3-9 or denial of a grievance or complaint not later than the 60th day
3-10 after the date the grievance or complaint is filed with the state
3-11 agency under rules adopted by the agency under Section 668.003.
3-12 (b) Review of a complaint by the executive director or the
3-13 executive director's designee is the final review to which an
3-14 employee is entitled for the complaint.
3-15 (c) The executive director's decision on a complaint is
3-16 final and binding.
3-17 (d) The executive director's decision on a grievance is
3-18 final and binding in the absence of a timely appeal.
3-19 Sec. 668.005. APPEAL TO STATE OFFICE OF ADMINISTRATIVE
3-20 HEARINGS; JUDICIAL REVIEW. (a) If a grievance is not resolved to
3-21 the employee's satisfaction by the executive director, the
3-22 aggrieved employee may appeal the grievance to the State Office of
3-23 Administrative Hearings. The employee must request the appeal on a
3-24 form provided by the State Office of Administrative Hearings not
3-25 later than the 20th day after the date the employee receives the
3-26 executive director's written decision.
3-27 (b) The State Office of Administrative Hearings shall
4-1 conduct a hearing on the grievance not later than the 20th day
4-2 after the date the request for an appeal is received by the State
4-3 Office of Administrative Hearings. A hearings examiner employed by
4-4 the State Office of Administrative Hearings shall conduct the
4-5 hearing.
4-6 (c) A hearing conducted under this section is subject to the
4-7 contested case provisions of the administrative procedure law,
4-8 Chapter 2001.
4-9 (d) If the hearings examiner renders a decision favorable to
4-10 the employee, the state agency shall pay the costs of a hearing
4-11 conducted under this section. If the decision is favorable to the
4-12 agency, the costs shall be divided equally between the state agency
4-13 and the aggrieved employee.
4-14 (e) An employee who has exhausted all administrative
4-15 remedies under this chapter and who is aggrieved by the final
4-16 decision of the State Office of Administrative Hearings hearings
4-17 examiner is entitled to judicial review as provided by the
4-18 administrative procedure law, Chapter 2001, for judicial review of
4-19 a contested case.
4-20 Sec. 668.006. TIME OFF. (a) An employee is entitled to a
4-21 reasonable amount of time off with pay to prepare for and to attend
4-22 a meeting or hearing conducted under this chapter for the
4-23 resolution of a grievance or complaint.
4-24 (b) A state agency shall adopt rules relating to an
4-25 employee's entitlement to time off under this section.
4-26 Sec. 668.007. RETALIATION PROHIBITED. (a) An employee may
4-27 not be disciplined, penalized, or prejudiced for exercising a right
5-1 to which the employee is entitled under this chapter.
5-2 (b) An employee may not be prohibited from or disciplined,
5-3 penalized, or prejudiced for acting as a witness in any proceeding
5-4 under this chapter.
5-5 (c) If the rules adopted by a state agency under Section
5-6 668.003 authorize the supervisor of an employee presenting a
5-7 grievance or complaint to render a decision relating to the
5-8 resolution of the grievance or complaint, the supervisor may not
5-9 be:
5-10 (1) disciplined, penalized, or prejudiced for
5-11 rendering a decision favorable to an aggrieved employee; or
5-12 (2) coerced or restrained in making a decision under
5-13 this chapter.
5-14 SECTION 2. A state agency shall adopt rules as provided by
5-15 Sections 668.003 and 668.006, Government Code, as added by this
5-16 Act, not later than January 1, 2002.
5-17 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001, and
5-18 applies to a grievance or complaint discovered by an employee on or
5-19 after January 1, 2002. A grievance or complaint discovered by an
5-20 employee before January 1, 2002, is covered by the law in effect
5-21 immediately before September 1, 2001, and the former law is
5-22 continued in effect for that purpose.