Bryant Wage Bill’s Paid Leave Disappears If No Insurer Offers One

The text as introduced · 1,197 words

By: Bryant
H.B. No. 5598

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the minimum wage and a requirement for a biennial study

and report on the living wage in this state, expanding access to

childcare, and providing paid parental leave.

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

ARTICLE 1. RAISING THE MINIMUM WAGE

SECTION 1.01 Section 62.051, Labor Code, is amended to read

as follows:

Sec. 62.051. MINIMUM WAGE. Except as provided by Section

62.057, an employer shall pay to each employee not less than the

greater of:

(1) $15 an hour; or

(2) the federal minimum wage under Section 6, Fair

Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. Section 206).

SECTION 1.02 Subchapter B, Chapter 62, Labor Code, is

amended by adding Section 62.058 to read as follows:

Sec. 62.058. BIENNIAL STUDY AND REPORT ON STATE LIVING

WAGE. (a) In this section, "consumer price index" means the

Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers

(CPI-W), published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United

States Department of Labor.

(b) Not later than September 1 of each even-numbered year,

the commission shall conduct a study and deliver a report to the

legislature on the living wage in this state. In conducting the

study, the commission shall seek to determine what wage rate is

required to meet minimum standards of living throughout this state,

classified on the basis of county or region. In making that

determination, the commission shall consider factors such as the

consumer price index and the cost of daily necessities in each

county or region.

(c) In its report, the commission must include information

from the preceding two-year period for each county or region

regarding:

(1) the number of jobs created that pay at least the

minimum wage;

(2) the effect of the consumer price index on the

purchasing power of individuals and families;

(3) the cost of daily necessities, such as housing,

clothing, food, health care, and child care;

(4) the number of small businesses created and closed;

(5) housing affordability for individuals and

families relying on the minimum wage; and

(6) the feasibility of obtaining health care coverage

when working in a job paying the minimum wage.

(d) The commission may consult with other state agencies as

necessary to conduct the study under this section.

SECTION 1.03 Section 62.151, Labor Code, is repealed.

ARTICLE 2. PAID PARENTAL LEAVE

SECTION 2.01 Subtitle B, Title 4, Labor Code, is amended by

adding Chapter 320 to read as follows:

CHAPTER 320. PAID PARENTAL LEAVE FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES

Sec. 320.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Employee" means an individual who performs

services in this state for an employer for compensation under a

contract for hire, whether express or implied. The term does not

include an independent contractor or a state employee to which

Section 661.9125, Government Code, applies.

(2) "Employer" means a person that employs 50 or more

employees.

Sec. 320.002. PAID PARENTAL LEAVE FOR CERTAIN EMPLOYEES.

(a) This section applies only to an employee who, during the

preceding 12 months, has worked for the employer on a full-time

basis.

(b) Subject to Subsection (c), an employee to whom this

section applies is entitled, on request, to 60 days of paid leave

for the:

(1) birth of a child by the employee;

(2) birth of a child by the employee's spouse;

(3) birth of a child by a gestational surrogate;

(4) adoption of a child; or

(5) provision of foster care or kinship care to a child

younger than one year of age who is in the conservatorship of the

Department of Family and Protective Services.

(c) The amount of paid leave to which an employee is

entitled under Subsection (b) for each week of leave taken under

that subsection is an amount equal to the employee's average weekly

wage during the 12-month period preceding the first day that the

employee takes leave under that subsection.

(d) This section does not entitle an employee to leave in

addition to any leave the employee is entitled to under the federal

Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. Section 2601 et

seq.). An employee is not entitled to paid leave under this section

for any period during which the employee is taking other paid leave.

(e) An employee may not take leave under this section:

(1) later than the first anniversary of the date of

birth or adoption of a child or placement of a child in foster care

or kinship care; or

(2) more than one time during a 12-month period.

(f) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an

employee who takes leave under this section for the purpose

described by Subsection (b)(1) may take the leave before the birth

of the child.

(g) An employer may not take an adverse employment action

against an employee because the employee has taken or plans to take

paid leave under this section. For purposes of this subsection,

"adverse employment action" includes termination or suspension of

the employee's employment, an action that affects the employee's

compensation, promotion, or performance evaluation, or any other

employment action that would dissuade a reasonable employee from

taking paid leave under this chapter.

Sec. 320.003. PAYMENT OF PAID PARENTAL LEAVE COSTS. (a) To

pay for the costs associated with paid leave required under Section

320.002, an employer may directly pay those costs or maintain an

insurance policy providing coverage for those costs in accordance

with this section.

(b) An employer electing to maintain an insurance policy

under Subsection (a) shall maintain a policy that provides

sufficient coverage for the employer's employees who are entitled

to paid leave under Section 320.002. To the extent the policy does

not cover the costs associated with paid leave required under

Section 320.002, the employer is liable for those costs.

(c) The commissioner of insurance may adopt rules

prescribing sufficient coverage requirements and reasonable rates

for an insurance policy described by this section.

Sec. 320.004. EXCEPTION. Notwithstanding any other

provision of this chapter, an employee is not entitled to paid leave

under Section 320.002, and an employer is not required to pay costs

associated with that leave under Section 320.003, if no insurer

authorized to engage in the business of insurance in this state

offers an insurance policy described by Section 320.003 by October

1 of the year preceding the year in which the paid leave requirement

would take effect.

SECTION 2.02 An employee is not entitled to paid leave under

Chapter 320, Labor Code, as added by this Act, before January 1,

2027.

ARTICLE 3. EXPANDED CHILDCARE SUBSIDY

SECTION 3.01 Subchapter A, Chapter 302, Labor Code, is

amended by adding Section 302.00415 to read as follows:

Sec. 302.00415. SUBSIDIZED CHILD CARE PROGRAM:

ELIGIBILITY. (a) A child is eligible for subsidized child care if

the child:

(1) is:

(A) younger than four years of age; and

(B) a member of a household with a total annual

income that is at or below 250 percent of the federal poverty

guidelines; or

(2) meets eligibility requirements established by the

commission.

(b) The commission may adopt rules necessary to administer

this section.

SECTION 3.02 This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.