five unpaid days off after a reproductive loss

The text as introduced · 875 words

89R324 KKR-D

By: González of El Paso
H.B. No. 317

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to an employee's right to time off from work if the

employee experiences a reproductive loss.

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 TIME OFF FOLLOWING REPRODUCTIVE LOSS

Sec. 83.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Adoption" has the meaning assigned by Section

162.402, Family Code.

(2) "Assisted reproduction" has the meaning assigned

by Section 160.102, Family Code.

(3) "Employee" means an individual employed by an

employer.

(4) "Employer" means a person that employs five or

more employees. The term includes a public employer.

(5) "Gestational mother" means a woman who gives birth

to a child conceived under a surrogacy agreement.

(6) "Public employer" has the meaning assigned by

Section 619.001, Government Code.

(7) "Surrogacy agreement" means a validated

gestational agreement under Subchapter I, Chapter 160, Family Code,

or a surrogacy agreement entered into under another state's or

country's law.

Sec. 83.002. APPLICABILITY. (a) This chapter applies only

to an employee who:

(1) is employed by the employer for at least 30 days;

and

(2) would have been a parent of a child as a result of:

(A) a pregnancy of the employee, the employee's

spouse, or a gestational mother; or

(B) an adoption.

(b) This chapter does not apply to an employer that is an

agency of the federal government.

Sec. 83.003. RIGHT TO TIME OFF; LIMITATIONS. (a) An

employee to whom this chapter applies is entitled to five days of

time off during the three-month period following the date the

employee experiences a reproductive loss resulting from:

(1) a miscarriage or stillbirth;

(2) an unsuccessful assisted reproduction procedure,

including an unsuccessful round of intrauterine insemination;

(3) the dissolution or breach of an adoption agreement

with the birth mother or legal guardian or an adoption that is not

finalized because the adoption is contested by another person; or

(4) the dissolution or breach of a gestational

agreement, or a failed embryo transfer to the intended gestational

mother under the agreement.

(b) An employee shall provide notice to the employer of the

employee's intent to take time off under this chapter as soon as it

is reasonably practicable.

(c) An employee may take time off under this section

consecutively or intermittently.

(d) An employee who experiences more than one reproductive

loss in a 12-month period is entitled under this section to not more

than 20 work days of time off during that period.

Sec. 83.004. USE OF LEAVE TIME. An employer may not require

an employee to substitute accrued paid vacation leave, medical or

sick leave, or other leave for time off provided by this chapter.

Sec. 83.005. EFFECT ON EMPLOYEE PAY. An employer is not

required to compensate an employee who takes time off provided by

this chapter.

Sec. 83.006. EMPLOYEE CERTIFICATION. (a) Subject to

Subsection (b), an employer may require an employee to provide,

within a reasonable time after the employee's initial absence from

work, certification to the employer that:

(1) the employee experienced a reproductive loss

described by Section 83.003(a); and

(2) the employee's time off from work is related to the

loss.

(b) An employer may not require that an employee requesting

time off under this chapter provide to the employer:

(1) the cause or nature of the employee's reproductive

loss; or

(2) documentation related to the employee's

reproductive loss.

(c) The Texas Workforce Commission shall create and make

available a form that may be used by an employee for certification

under this section. An employee is not required to use the form

created under this subsection to provide certification.

Sec. 83.007. CONFIDENTIALITY. An employer shall maintain

the confidentiality of the fact that an employee has requested or

taken time off under this chapter and any written document or record

submitted to the employer by the employee relating to time off

requested or taken under this chapter, except to the extent that

disclosure is:

(1) requested or consented to in writing by the

employee; or

(2) required by other state or federal law.

Sec. 83.008. NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES. Each employer shall

inform its employees of the right to take time off under this

chapter by posting a sign in a prominent location in the employer's

workplace.

Sec. 83.009. EMPLOYER RETALIATION PROHIBITED. An employer

may not suspend or terminate the employment of, or otherwise

discriminate against, an employee who:

(1) requests or takes time off authorized by this

chapter; or

(2) testifies, assists, or participates in any manner

in an investigation, proceeding, or hearing relating to a violation

of this chapter.

Sec. 83.010. UNLAWFUL EMPLOYMENT PRACTICE. An employer

that violates this chapter commits an unlawful employment practice

under Subchapter B, Chapter 21.

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 based on a reproductive loss occurring on or after the

effective date of this Act.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.