By: Flores H.B. No. 148
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to certain heat safety protections; providing
  administrative and civil penalties.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  This Act may be cited as the Antelmo Ramirez Heat
  Safety Act.
         SECTION 2.  Subtitle B, Title 2, Labor Code, is amended by
  adding Chapter 53 to read as follows:
  CHAPTER 53. HEAT SAFETY
         Sec. 53.001.  DEFINITIONS. In this section:
               (1)  "Commission" means the Texas Workforce
  Commission.
               (2)  "Heat illness" means a serious medical condition
  resulting from the body's inability to cope with a particular heat
  load and includes heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat syncope, and
  heat stroke.
               (3)  "Heat safety expert" means a person that:
                     (A)  possesses a certification or educational
  degree in public health, medicine, occupational safety,
  environmental science, human physiology, or a related field; and
                     (B)  performs work focused on heat safety in the
  workplace.
         Sec. 53.002.  APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies to the
  mitigation and control of risks related to heat illness, regardless
  of the location of employment, type of employment, or type of
  employer.
         Sec. 53.003.  HEAT ILLNESS PREVENTION ADVISORY BOARD;
  STANDARDS. (a) The commission shall appoint an advisory board
  consisting of the following seven members:
               (1)  two heat safety experts;
               (2)  two persons employed as construction workers;
               (3)  one employer;
               (4)  one representative of a non-profit organization
  engaged in worker safety issues; and
               (5)  one representative of a construction worker labor
  union.
         (b)  The advisory board appointed under this section shall
  develop and recommend heat illness prevention standards consistent
  with this chapter and designed to protect employees from heat
  illness in indoor and outdoor work. The commission shall review and
  adopt the standards recommended by the advisory board under this
  section for use by employers to the extent that the standards are
  consistent with this chapter and other applicable law.
         (c)  The standards recommended by the advisory board and
  adopted by the commission under this section must:
               (1)  be developed in a manner consistent with "Criteria
  for a Recommended Standard: Occupational Exposure to Heat and Hot
  Environments" published by the National Institute for Occupational
  Safety and Health;
               (2)  include requirements related to the provision of
  drinking water, access to nearby shade or climate-controlled
  environments, access to nearby restrooms and handwashing stations,
  rest periods, effective emergency response procedures,
  acclimatization to working in heat, training procedures for
  employees and supervisors, and related standards for protection
  against heat illness; and
               (3)  include mandatory administrative penalties of not
  less than $1,000 per violation per employee for an employer's
  failure to comply with heat illness prevention standards adopted
  under this section, to be assessed and administered by the
  commission.
         Sec. 53.004.  SIGNAGE REQUIRED. (a) The commission shall
  produce signage in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, and any other
  languages that the commission determines to be appropriate
  outlining:
               (1)  the heat illness prevention standards adopted by
  the commission under this chapter; and
               (2)  an employee's rights under this chapter.
         (b)  The commission shall make the signage available for free
  download by employers and the public on the commission's website.
         (c)  An employer shall post a copy of the signage described
  by this section at its place of business in a place accessible by
  the employer's employees.
         Sec. 53.005.  EMPLOYEE TRAINING REQUIRED. An employer is
  required to provide training to each of its employees about the heat
  illness prevention standards adopted under this chapter as they
  relate to employees, supervisors, and employers. The training,
  including any related written materials, must be provided to each
  employee in a language that the employee understands.
         Sec. 53.006.  UNLAWFUL EMPLOYMENT PRACTICE. An employer
  commits an unlawful employment practice under this chapter if the
  employer retaliates or discriminates against an employee that:
               (1)  experiences heat illness;
               (2)  reports heat illness or a violation of this
  chapter or other applicable standards to their employer;
               (3)  files a complaint with the Texas Workforce
  Commission;
               (4)  files a lawsuit; or
               (5)  testifies, assists, or participates in any manner
  in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing under this chapter.
         Sec. 53.007.  LIABILITY. (a) In addition to any
  administrative penalties assessed under this chapter, an employee
  is entitled to a private right of action in a court of appropriate
  jurisdiction for an employer's failure to comply with heat illness
  prevention standards adopted under this chapter. An employee is
  not required to exhaust applicable alternative administrative
  remedies before pursuing a private right of action under this
  section.
         (b)  An employee that prevails in an action against an
  employer under this section is entitled to recover from the
  employer all court costs and reasonable attorney fees related to
  the action.
         (c)  If the court presiding over an action filed by an
  employee under this section finds that an employer knowingly
  violated the heat illness prevention standards adopted under this
  chapter, the court shall award the employee an amount equal to
  triple the amount of damages otherwise due to the employee.
         Sec. 53.008.  DEADLINES FOR CERTAIN ACTIONS. (a) The
  commission shall appoint the advisory board described by Section
  53.003 as soon as reasonably possible after the effective date of
  this Act, but not later than October 1, 2023.
         (b)  The advisory board shall submit recommended standards
  to the commission under Section 53.003 not later than January 1,
  2024.
         (c)  The commission shall adopt and publish the standards
  described by Section 53.003 not later than March 1, 2024.
         (d)  This section expires and is repealed on January 1, 2025.
         SECTION 3.  Chapter 53, Labor Code, as added by this Act,
  applies only to work performed on or after the adoption and
  publication of the standards described by Section 53.003, Labor
  Code, as added by this Act.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes on the 91st day after the last day of the legislative
  session.