HB 179 — Leave for employees receiving prenatal care

90R4037 SCF-D By: González of El Paso H.B. No. 179 relating to leave for employees receiving prenatal care, lactating employees, and employees experiencing a reproductive loss.

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.