LABOR CODE

TITLE 2. PROTECTION OF LABORERS

SUBTITLE B. RESTRICTIONS ON LABOR

CHAPTER 52. MISCELLANEOUS RESTRICTIONS

SUBCHAPTER A. RESTRICTIONS ON CERTAIN CONSECUTIVE PERIODS OF EMPLOYMENT

Sec. 52.001.  RETAIL EMPLOYER.  (a)  A person who is an employer may not require an employee to work seven consecutive days in an establishment, the business of which is selling merchandise at retail.
(b)  The person may not deny an employee at least one period of 24 consecutive hours of time off for rest or worship in each seven-day period.  The time off must be in addition to the regular periods of rest allowed during each day worked.
(c)  The person shall accommodate the religious beliefs and practices of an employee unless the employer can demonstrate that to do so would constitute an undue hardship on the conduct of the employer's business.  In addition, the person may not require an employee to work during a period that the employee requests to be off to attend one regular worship service a week of the employee's religion.
(d)  This section does not apply to employment of a part-time employee whose total work hours for one employer during a calendar week do not exceed 30 hours.
Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 269, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.

Sec. 52.002.  EMPLOYER FORMERLY SUBJECT TO SATURDAY/SUNDAY CLOSING LAW.  An employer whose establishment was closed on Saturday or Sunday to comply with Chapter 15, Acts of the 57th Legislature, 1st Called Session, 1961 (Article 9001, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), before that Act was repealed effective September 1, 1985, may not require an employee who has been continuously employed by that employer since August 31, 1985, to work on whichever of those days the establishment was closed.
Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 269, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.

Sec. 52.003.  OFFENSE;  PENALTY;  DEFENSE.  (a)  A person commits an offense if the person violates this subchapter.
(b)  An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
(c)  It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that the employee volunteered for work on the seventh consecutive day and that the employee signed a written statement stating that the employee volunteered.  The statement must also contain a provision, signed by the employer or the employer's agent, that the employer did not require the work.
Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 269, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.

SUBCHAPTER B. RESTRICTION ON WORK BY FOREIGN CREW

Sec. 52.011.  PROHIBITION OF CERTAIN WORK BY FOREIGN CREW;  PENALTY.  (a)  A person commits an offense if the person:
(1)  is an officer or member of a crew of a foreign seagoing vessel;  and
(2)  works on a wharf or levee of a port beyond the end of the vessel's tackle.
(b)  An offense under this section is punishable by:
(1)  a fine of not less than $10 and not more than $100;
(2)  confinement in jail for a term of not less than 10 days and not more than 30 days;  or
(3)  both the fine and confinement.
Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 269, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.

SUBCHAPTER C. RESTRICTIONS ON LENGTH OF HOES

Sec. 52.021.  MINIMUM LENGTH OF HOE HANDLES.  (a)  An employer of agricultural laborers may not require an employee to use a hoe that has a handle shorter than four feet while performing agricultural labor in a commercial farming operation.
(b)  This section does not apply to an employer engaged in the operation of a greenhouse or nursery.
Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 269, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.

Sec. 52.022.  OFFENSE;  PENALTY.  (a)  A person commits an offense if the person violates Section 52.021.
(b)  An offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 269, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.

SUBCHAPTER D. RESTRICTIONS ON BLACKLISTING

Sec. 52.031.  BLACKLISTING OFFENSE;  PENALTY.  (a)  In this section, "blacklist" means to place on a book or list or publish the name of an employee of an individual, firm, company, or corporation who was discharged or who voluntarily left that employment, intending to prevent the employee from engaging in or securing employment of any kind with any other person, in either a public or a private capacity.
(b)  A person commits an offense if the person:
(1)  blacklists or causes to be blacklisted an employee;  or
(2)  conspires or contrives by correspondence or any other manner to prevent an employee discharged by a corporation, company, or individual from procuring employment.
(c)  An offense under this section is punishable by:
(1)  a fine of not less than $50 or more than $250;
(2)  imprisonment in jail for not less than 30 days or more than 90 days;  or
(3)  both the fine and imprisonment.
(d)  This section may not be held to prohibit a corporation, company, or individual from giving, on application from a discharged employee or a person desiring to employ the employee, a written truthful statement of the reason for the discharge.  The written statement may not be used as the cause for a civil or criminal action for libel against the person who furnishes the statement.
Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 269, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.

SUBCHAPTER E. RESTRICTIONS ON COERCION OF EMPLOYEE TRADE

Sec. 52.041.  COERCION OF EMPLOYEE TRADE;  PENALTY.  (a)  A person, firm, or corporation commits an offense if the person, firm, or corporation requires or attempts to require by coercion an employee to:
(1)  deal with a person, association, corporation, or company;  or
(2)  purchase an article of food, clothing, or other merchandise at a place or store.
(b)  A person, firm, or corporation commits an offense if the person, firm, or corporation excludes from work, punishes, or blacklists an employee for failure to:
(1)  deal with the person, firm, or corporation;  or
(2)  purchase an article of food, clothing, or other merchandise at a place or store.
(c)  An offense under this section is punishable by a fine of not less than $50 or more than $200.
Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 269, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.

SUBCHAPTER F. RESTRICTIONS ON PENALIZING EMPLOYEE FOR COMPLIANCE WITH SUBPOENA

Sec. 52.051.  PENALIZING EMPLOYEE FOR COMPLIANCE WITH SUBPOENA.  (a)  An employer may not discharge, discipline, or penalize in any manner an employee because the employee complies with a valid subpoena to appear in a civil, criminal, legislative, or administrative proceeding.
(b)  If the subpoena to which a violation of Subsection (a) applies is issued by a court, the employer violating Subsection (a) may be found in contempt by the court issuing the subpoena.
(c)  If the subpoena to which a violation of Subsection (a) applies is issued by a legislative committee or a state agency, the employer violating Subsection (a) is subject to the authority of the committee or agency to impose a monetary penalty, not to exceed $500, on a person who violates an order of the committee or agency.
(d)  An employee discharged in violation of this section is entitled to return to the same employment that the employee had at the time the employee was subpoenaed if the employee, as soon as practical after release from compliance with the subpoena, gives the employer actual notice that the employee intends to return.
(e)  An employee injured because of the violation of this section by an employer may recover:
(1)  damages in an amount that does not exceed six months' compensation at the rate at which the employee was compensated when the subpoena was issued;  and
(2)  reasonable attorney's fees.
(f)  It is a defense to an action by an employee under this section for reemployment that reemployment is impossible or unreasonable because of a change in the employer's circumstances while the employee complied with the subpoena.
Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 269, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1993.

SUBCHAPTER G.  RESTRICTIONS ON PROHIBITING EMPLOYEE TRANSPORTATION OR STORAGE OF CERTAIN FIREARMS OR AMMUNITION

Sec. 52.061.  RESTRICTION ON PROHIBITING EMPLOYEE ACCESS TO OR STORAGE OF FIREARM OR AMMUNITION.  A public or private employer may not prohibit an employee who holds a license to carry a handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, who otherwise lawfully possesses a firearm, or who lawfully possesses ammunition from transporting or storing a firearm or ammunition the employee is authorized by law to possess in a locked, privately owned motor vehicle in a parking lot, parking garage, or other parking area the employer provides for employees.
Added by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1058 (S.B. 321), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2011.
Amended by: 
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 437 (H.B. 910), Sec. 30, eff. January 1, 2016.

Sec. 52.062.  EXCEPTIONS.  (a)  Section 52.061 does not:
(1)  authorize a person who holds a license to carry a handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, who otherwise lawfully possesses a firearm, or who lawfully possesses ammunition to possess a firearm or ammunition on any property where the possession of a firearm or ammunition is prohibited by state or federal law; or
(2)  apply to:
(A)  a vehicle owned or leased by a public or private employer and used by an employee in the course and scope of the employee's employment, unless the employee is required to transport or store a firearm in the official discharge of the employee's duties;
(B)  a school district;
(C)  an open-enrollment charter school, as defined by Section 5.001, Education Code;
(D)  a private school, as defined by Section 22.081, Education Code;
(E)  property owned or controlled by a person, other than the employer, that is subject to a valid, unexpired oil, gas, or other mineral lease that contains a provision prohibiting the possession of firearms on the property; or
(F)  property owned or leased by a chemical manufacturer or oil and gas refiner with an air authorization under Chapter 382, Health and Safety Code, and on which the primary business conducted is the manufacture, use, storage, or transportation of hazardous, combustible, or explosive materials, except in regard to an employee who holds a license to carry a handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, and who stores a firearm or ammunition the employee is authorized by law to possess in a locked, privately owned motor vehicle in a parking lot, parking garage, or other parking area the employer provides for employees that is outside of a secured and restricted area:
(i)  that contains the physical plant;
(ii)  that is not open to the public; and
(iii)  the ingress into which is constantly monitored by security personnel.
(b)  Section 52.061 does not prohibit an employer from prohibiting an employee who holds a license to carry a handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code, or who otherwise lawfully possesses a firearm, from possessing a firearm the employee is otherwise authorized by law to possess on the premises of the employer's business. In this subsection, "premises" has the meaning assigned by Section 46.03, Penal Code.
Added by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1058 (S.B. 321), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2011.
Amended by: 
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 437 (H.B. 910), Sec. 30, eff. January 1, 2016.
Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 809 (H.B. 1927), Sec. 15, eff. September 1, 2021.

Sec. 52.063.  IMMUNITY FROM CIVIL LIABILITY.  (a)  Except in cases of gross negligence, a public or private employer, or the employer's principal, officer, director, employee, or agent, is not liable in a civil action for personal injury, death, property damage, or any other damages resulting from or arising out of an occurrence involving a firearm or ammunition that the employer is required to allow on the employer's property under this subchapter.
(b)  The presence of a firearm or ammunition on an employer's property under the authority of this subchapter does not by itself constitute a failure by the employer to provide a safe workplace.
(c)  For purposes of this section, a public or private employer, or the employer's principal, officer, director, employee, or agent, does not have a duty:
(1)  to patrol, inspect, or secure:
(A)  any parking lot, parking garage, or other parking area the employer provides for employees; or
(B)  any privately owned motor vehicle located in a parking lot, parking garage, or other parking area described by Paragraph (A); or
(2)  to investigate, confirm, or determine an employee's compliance with laws related to the ownership or possession of a firearm or ammunition or the transportation and storage of a firearm or ammunition.
Added by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1058 (S.B. 321), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2011.

Sec. 52.064.  CONSTRUCTION OF PROVISION RELATING TO IMMUNITY FROM CIVIL LIABILITY.  Section 52.063 does not limit or alter the personal liability of:
(1)  an individual who causes harm or injury by using a firearm or ammunition;
(2)  an individual who aids, assists, or encourages another individual to cause harm or injury by using a firearm or ammunition; or
(3)  an employee who transports or stores a firearm or ammunition on the property of the employee's employer but who fails to comply with the requirements of Section 52.061.
Added by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1058 (S.B. 321), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2011.