86R13765 SMT-D
 
  By: Bowers H.B. No. 2501
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the ability of a nonexempt employee to participate in
  certain academic, extracurricular, and developmental activities of
  the employee's child.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subtitle D, Title 2, Labor Code, is amended by
  adding Chapter 83 to read as follows:
  CHAPTER 83. EMPLOYEE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATION
  IN CERTAIN ACTIVITIES OF EMPLOYEE'S CHILD
         Sec. 83.001.  DEFINITIONS.  In this chapter:
               (1)  "Employee" means a person other than an
  independent contractor who, for compensation, performs services
  for an employer under a written or oral contract of hire, whether
  express or implied.  The term includes an employee engaged to work
  flexible hours established periodically by the employer.
               (2)  "Employer" means a person who employs more than 50
  employees in this state, regardless of whether those employees are
  exempt from the overtime provisions of the federal Fair Labor
  Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. Section 201 et seq.).  The term
  includes a public employer.
               (3)  "Reasonable advance written notice" means the
  period, determined by the employer, for an employee to provide
  written notice of the employee's planned absence under this
  chapter.
         Sec. 83.002.  APPLICABILITY.  This chapter applies to an
  employee who:
               (1)  is a parent as defined by Section 101.024, Family
  Code, legal guardian, custodial caregiver, managing conservator,
  or possessory conservator of a child who is in a licensed or
  certified child-care facility or prekindergarten through grade 12;
               (2)  has been employed for not less than 90 days by the
  employer granting the unpaid time off; and
               (3)  is not exempt from the overtime provisions of the
  federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. Section 201 et
  seq.).
         Sec. 83.003.  EMPLOYEE RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN CERTAIN
  ACTIVITIES OF EMPLOYEE'S CHILD.  (a) An employee who is subject to
  this chapter is entitled to unpaid time off as provided by this
  section to:
               (1)  meet with a teacher, counselor, or school
  administrator of the employee's child or with a caregiver of the
  child in a child-care facility; or
               (2)  participate in a facility or school activity of
  the employee's child, including award ceremonies, school
  productions or events in which the child is participating, or
  hearings regarding admission, review, or dismissal.
         (b)  Except as limited by Subsection (c), an employee is
  entitled under this section to up to four hours of time off at one
  time in any one-year period for each of the employee's children for
  whose activities the employee is entitled to time off under this
  chapter.
         (c)  An employee is not entitled to take time off under this
  section more than two times in a one-month period.
         (d)  Before taking time off under this section, an employee
  must provide the employer with reasonable advance written notice of
  the planned absence of the employee, unless the need for the absence
  was not reasonably foreseeable.  The notice must include the date
  and time of the planned absence and a brief description of the
  meeting or activity in which the employee will be participating.  An
  employer may not require notice under this subsection of more than
  five calendar days.
         Sec. 83.004.  USE OF LEAVE TIME.  (a) An employee may, but is
  not required to, use existing vacation leave time, personal leave
  time, or compensatory leave time for the purpose of a planned
  absence authorized by this chapter except as otherwise provided by
  a collective bargaining agreement entered into before September 1,
  2019.
         (b)  The use of leave time under this section may not be
  restricted by a term or condition adopted under a collective
  bargaining agreement entered into on or after September 1, 2019.
         Sec. 83.005.  DOCUMENTATION.  (a) An employee shall provide
  documentation to the employer of the employee's attendance at a
  meeting or participation in a particular activity on the employer's
  request.  An employer may waive the documentation requirement.
         (b)  For purposes of this section, "documentation" means any
  verification of parental attendance at a meeting or participation
  in a facility or school activity that the child's facility or school
  considers reasonable and appropriate.
         Sec. 83.006.  SAME EMPLOYER.  If both parents of a child are
  employed by the same employer at the same workplace, the
  entitlement granted under Section 83.003 may be exercised as
  regards a specific meeting or activity of that child only by the
  employee who first gives notice to the employer as required under
  Section 83.003(d). The other parent is entitled to time off to
  attend the meeting or activity only as approved by the employer.
         Sec. 83.007.  EMPLOYER RETALIATION PROHIBITED.  (a) An
  employer may not suspend or terminate the employment of, or
  otherwise discriminate against, an employee who takes a planned
  absence authorized by this chapter to attend a meeting or
  participate in an activity of the employee's child if the employee
  has fulfilled the requirements of Section 83.003(d).
         (b)  An employee whose employment is suspended or terminated
  in violation of this chapter is entitled to:
               (1)  reinstatement to the employee's former position or
  a position that is comparable in terms of compensation, benefits,
  and other conditions of employment;
               (2)  compensation for wages lost during the period of
  suspension or termination;
               (3)  reinstatement of any fringe benefits and seniority
  rights lost because of the suspension or termination; and
               (4)  if the employee brings an action to enforce this
  subsection and is the prevailing party, payment by the employer of
  court costs and reasonable attorney's fees.
         (c)  An employer may not decline to interview or hire an
  applicant solely because the applicant is a parent, legal guardian,
  custodial caregiver, managing conservator, or possessory
  conservator of a child in a licensed or certified child-care
  facility or prekindergarten through grade 12.
         Sec. 83.008.  NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES.  (a) Each employer shall
  inform its employees of their rights under this chapter by posting a
  conspicuous sign in a prominent location in the employer's
  workplace.
         (b)  The Texas Workforce Commission by rule shall prescribe
  the design and content of the sign required by this section.
         SECTION 2.  This Act applies only to a suspension,
  termination, or other adverse employment action that is taken by an
  employer against an employee because of an employee absence
  authorized under Chapter 83, Labor Code, as added by this Act, that
  occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. Action taken by
  an employer against an employee for an employee absence occurring
  before that date is governed by the law in effect on the date the
  absence occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that
  purpose.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.