85R10374 SMT-D     By: Longoria H.B. No. 2510       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to employer retaliation against employees who seek   recovery of unpaid wages by filing a wage claim with the Texas   Workforce Commission.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 61, Labor Code, is amended   by adding Section 61.021 to read as follows:          Sec. 61.021.  EMPLOYER RETALIATION PROHIBITED; COMPLAINT   PROCEDURE. (a) An employer may not suspend or terminate the   employment of or in any other manner discipline, discriminate   against, or retaliate against an employee who in good faith seeks to   recover wages owed to the employee by filing a wage claim under   Subchapter D.          (b)  A person who has reason to believe that an employer has   violated Subsection (a) may file a complaint with the commission.          (c)  On receipt of a complaint under Subsection (b), the   commission shall investigate and dispose of the complaint in the   same manner as a wage claim under Subchapter D.  The commission may   incorporate the investigation into any ongoing investigation of an   underlying wage claim filed by the employee, if applicable.          (d)  The commission shall ensure that information regarding   the complaint process under this section is available on the   commission's Internet website.          SECTION 2.  Subchapter D, Chapter 61, Labor Code, is amended   by adding Section 61.0531 to read as follows:          Sec. 61.0531.  RETALIATION; DAMAGES. (a)  If after an   investigation of a complaint under Section 61.021(b) the commission   examiner, a wage claim appeal tribunal, or the commission   determines that an employer violated Section 61.021(a), the   examiner, tribunal, or commission shall order the employer to pay   to the employee damages in an amount equal to the greater of:                (1)  $1,000; or                (2)  the amount of wages ordered to be paid in the   underlying wage claim, if the payment of wages is ordered in the   underlying wage claim.          (b)  Damages under Subsection (a) are in addition to any   payment of wages ordered under this subchapter.          SECTION 3.  Section 61.0531, Labor Code, as added by this   Act, applies only to conduct that occurs on or after the effective   date of this Act. Conduct that occurs before that date is governed   by the law in effect on the date the conduct occurred, and the   former law is continued in effect for that purpose.          SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.