Juvenile Justice Department staff grievance rules get rewritten

The text as introduced · 549 words

89R15483 CJD-F

By: Cook
H.B. No. 4263

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the employment practices of the Texas Juvenile Justice

Department and to the eligibility of a person to be appointed to the

Texas Juvenile Justice Department's release review panel and the

authority of a panel member.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 242.004(c), Human Resources Code, is

amended to read as follows:

(c) The department shall establish procedures and practices

governing:

(1) employment-related grievances submitted by

department employees; and

(2) grievances challenging disciplinary termination

of employment [ disciplinary actions within the department,

including a procedure allowing a department employee to elect to

participate in an independent dismissal mediation if the employee

is recommended for dismissal ].

SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 242, Human Resources Code,

is amended by adding Section 242.012 to read as follows:

Sec. 242.012. PAYMENT FOR VACATION LEAVE FOR JUVENILE

CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS. (a) In this section, "juvenile

correctional officer" has the meaning assigned by Section 242.009.

(b) The department may adopt a policy allowing juvenile

correctional officers, one time during a fiscal year, to elect to

receive a lump-sum payment for the officer's accumulated vacation

leave in lieu of taking the leave.

(c) The number of hours of accumulated vacation leave for

which a juvenile correctional officer may be paid under a policy

authorized by this section may not exceed all of the officer's

accumulated vacation leave or 40 hours of accumulated vacation

leave, whichever is less.

(d) If the department pays a juvenile correctional officer

for the officer's accumulated vacation leave under a policy

authorized by this section, the department shall:

(1) compute the amount of the payment by multiplying

the officer's hourly rate of compensation on the date the officer

notifies the department of an election by the number of hours of

accumulated vacation leave for which the officer elects to be paid;

and

(2) on making the payment, deduct the number of hours

for which the officer received payment from the officer's

accumulated vacation leave balance.

SECTION 3. Section 245.101(c), Human Resources Code, is

amended to read as follows:

(c) The executive director shall determine the size of the

panel described by Subsection (b) and the length of the members'

terms of service on the panel. The panel must consist of an odd

number of members and the terms of the panel's members must last for

at least two years. The executive director shall adopt policies

that ensure the transparency, consistency, and objectivity of the

panel's composition, procedures, and decisions. The executive

director shall appoint persons to serve as members of the panel. A

person appointed to the panel must be a department employee [ who

works at the department's central office ]. A member of the panel

may not be involved in any determination under this chapter

[ supervisory decisions ] concerning a child [ children ] in the

custody of the department for whom that panel member has made a

supervisory decision .

SECTION 4. As soon as practicable after the effective date

of this Act, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department shall establish

the procedures and practices required by Section 242.004(c), Human

Resources Code, as amended by this Act.

SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.