González Bill Gives Workers Five Days Off After Reproductive Loss

The text as introduced · 1,137 words

90R4037 SCF-D

By: González of El Paso
H.B. No. 179

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to leave for employees receiving prenatal care, lactating

employees, and employees experiencing a reproductive loss.

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

SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 661, Government Code, is

amended by adding Sections 661.9135 and 661.925 to read as follows:

Sec. 661.9135. PRENATAL LEAVE. (a) In this section,

"prenatal care" means a health care service a state employee

receives during their pregnancy or related to the pregnancy,

including:

(1) a physical examination;

(2) a medical procedure;

(3) monitoring and testing; and

(4) a discussion with a health care provider related

to the pregnancy.

(b) Notwithstanding Sections 661.901(a) and (b), this

section applies to a state employee employed in the executive,

judicial, or legislative branch of state government.

(c) In addition to other leave provided by this chapter, a

state employee is entitled to a leave of absence without a deduction

in salary to receive prenatal care. Leave without a deduction in

salary under this section may not exceed 20 hours during a state

fiscal year.

Sec. 661.925. LEAVE FOR LACTATING STATE EMPLOYEES. (a) A

state agency shall allow each agency employee sufficient time off,

without a deduction in salary or accrued leave, to express breast

milk each time the employee has a reasonable need to express breast

milk.

(b) An agency employee is entitled to the time off provided

by this section until the third anniversary of the date of

childbirth or a reproductive loss.

SECTION 2. 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;

(3) the dissolution or breach of an adoption agreement

with the birth mother or legal guardian;

(4) an adoption that is not finalized because the

adoption is contested by another person;

(5) the dissolution or breach of a surrogacy

agreement; or

(6) a failed embryo transfer to the intended

gestational mother under a surrogacy 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. (a) 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.

(b) An employee may, but is not required to, use existing

accrued vacation leave, medical or sick leave, or other paid leave

for the purpose of taking time off to which the employee is entitled

under this chapter.

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

required to compensate an employee for time off taken as provided by

this chapter, unless the employee is using the employee's accrued

vacation leave, medical or sick leave, or other paid leave.

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 3. Chapter 83, Labor Code, as added by this Act,

applies only to a suspension, termination, or other adverse

employment action taken by an employer against an employee because

of an employee absence authorized under Chapter 83 due to a

reproductive loss occurring on or after the effective date of this

Act.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2027.