87R174 JSC-D
 
  By: Eckhardt S.B. No. 1834
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to a database of employers penalized for failure to pay
  wages or convicted of certain criminal offenses involving wage
  theft.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter D, Chapter 301, Labor Code, is
  amended by adding Section 301.0705 to read as follows:
         Sec. 301.0705.  DATABASE REGARDING WAGE THEFT. (a) In this
  section:
               (1)  "Attorney representing the state" means a district
  attorney, criminal district attorney, or county attorney
  performing the duties of a district attorney.
               (2)  "Employee" and "employer" have the meanings
  assigned by Section 61.001.
         (b)  The commission shall make available on its Internet
  website a publicly accessible list of all employers in this state
  that have been:
               (1)  assessed an administrative penalty under Section
  61.053;
               (2)  ordered to pay wages by a final order of the
  commission and have failed to comply with Section 61.063; or
               (3)  convicted of an offense under:
                     (A)  Section 61.019; or
                     (B)  Section 31.04, Penal Code, if the offense
  involved the theft of a service that was rendered by an employee of
  the employer.
         (c)  For an employer that is a business entity, the database
  must include the name under which the entity operates and the name
  of each individual who is an owner of the entity and actively
  involved in the management of the entity.
         (d)  The commission must provide notice to an employer not
  later than the 180th day before the date the employer is listed in
  the database.
         (e)  The commission by rule shall establish a process by
  which an employer may, at any time after receiving notice under
  Subsection (d), dispute the employer's inclusion in the database.
  The process must require the commission to investigate and make a
  final determination regarding an employer dispute under this
  subsection not later than the 21st day after the date the dispute is
  filed.
         (f)  The commission shall list an employer in the database
  until the third anniversary of the date the penalty is assessed or
  the employer is convicted.
         (g)  An attorney representing the state shall report to the
  commission the name of each employer that is prosecuted and
  convicted in the attorney's jurisdiction of an offense described by
  Subsection (b)(3).
         (h)  For purposes of this section, a person has been
  convicted of an offense if the person was adjudged guilty of the
  offense or entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere in return for
  a grant of deferred adjudication community supervision, regardless
  of whether the sentence for the offense was ever imposed or whether
  the sentence was probated and the person was subsequently
  discharged from community supervision.
         (i)  This section does not impose any additional requirement
  on a contractor performing work under a contract that is subject to:
               (1)  Chapter 2258, Government Code; or
               (2)  the Davis-Bacon Act (40 U.S.C. Section 3141 et
  seq.) or another federal law that makes the Davis-Bacon Act
  applicable to the contract.
         SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies
  only to an administrative penalty assessed on or after the
  effective date of this Act.  An administrative penalty assessed
  before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
  effect on the date the penalty was assessed, and the former law is
  continued in effect for that purpose.
         (b)  The change in law made by this Act applies only to a
  criminal proceeding that commences on or after the effective date
  of this Act.  A criminal proceeding that commences before the
  effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
  date the proceeding commenced, and the former law is continued in
  effect for that purpose.
         (c)  The change in law made by this Act applies only to a
  final order of the Texas Workforce Commission entered on or after
  the effective date of this Act. A final order entered before the
  effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
  date the order was entered, and the former law is continued in
  effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 3.  Not later than December 1, 2021, the Texas
  Workforce Commission shall establish the database required by
  Section 301.0705, Labor Code, as added by this Act.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.