85R4822 JSC-D     By: Garcia, Rodríguez S.B. No. 462       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to a database of employers penalized for failure to pay   wages or convicted of certain offenses involving wage theft.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Subchapter D, Chapter 301, Labor Code, is   amended by adding Section 301.070 to read as follows:          Sec. 301.070.  DATABASE REGARDING WAGE THEFT. (a) In this   section:                (1)  "Attorney representing the state" means a district   attorney, criminal district attorney, or county attorney   performing the duties of a district attorney.                (2)  "Employee" and "employer" have the meanings   assigned by Section 61.001.          (b)  The commission shall make available on its Internet   website a publicly accessible list of all employers in this state   that have been:                (1)  assessed an administrative penalty under Section   61.053;                (2)  ordered to pay wages by a final order of the   commission and have failed to comply with Section 61.063; or                (3)  convicted of an offense under:                      (A)  Section 61.019; or                      (B)  Section 31.04, Penal Code, if the offense   involved the theft of a service that was rendered by an employee of   the employer.          (c)  For an employer that is a business entity, the database   must include the name under which the entity operates and the name   of each individual who is an owner of the entity and actively   involved in the management of the entity.          (d)  The commission must provide notice to an employer not   later than the 180th day before the date the employer is listed in   the database.          (e)  The commission by rule shall establish a process by   which an employer may, at any time after receiving notice under   Subsection (d), dispute the employer's inclusion in the database.   The process must require the commission to investigate and make a   final determination regarding an employer dispute under this   subsection not later than the 21st day after the date the dispute is   filed.          (f)  The commission shall list an employer in the database   until the third anniversary of the date the penalty is assessed or   the employer is convicted.          (g)  An attorney representing the state shall report to the   commission the name of each employer that is prosecuted and   convicted in the attorney's jurisdiction of an offense described by   Subsection (b)(3).          (h)  For purposes of this section, a person has been   convicted of an offense if the person was adjudged guilty of the   offense or entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere in return for   a grant of deferred adjudication community supervision, regardless   of whether the sentence for the offense was ever imposed or whether   the sentence was probated and the person was subsequently   discharged from community supervision.          (i)  This section does not impose any additional requirement   on a contractor performing work under a contract that is subject to:                (1)  Chapter 2258, Government Code; or                 (2)  the Davis-Bacon Act (40 U.S.C. Section 3141 et   seq.) or another federal law that makes the Davis-Bacon Act   applicable to the contract.          SECTION 2.  (a)  The change in law made by this Act applies   only to an administrative penalty assessed on or after the   effective date of this Act.  An administrative penalty assessed   before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in   effect on the date the penalty was assessed, and the former law is   continued in effect for that purpose.          (b)  The change in law made by this Act applies only to a   criminal proceeding that commences on or after the effective date   of this Act.  A criminal proceeding that commences before the   effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the   date the proceeding commenced, and the former law is continued in   effect for that purpose.          (c)  The change in law made by this Act applies only to a   final order of the Texas Workforce Commission entered on or after   the effective date of this Act. A final order entered before the   effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the   date the order was entered, and the former law is continued in   effect for that purpose.          SECTION 3.  Not later than December 1, 2017, the Texas   Workforce Commission shall establish the database required by   Section 301.070, Labor Code, as added by this Act.          SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.