Civil Rights Division Protects All Texans, Including Texas Military

Governor Abbott ordered Texas Military Forces during Hurricane Harvey, as a result the Texas Civil Rights Division received influx of complaints from service members concerning job security, status and their rights…

When Hurricane Harvey hit Texas in August, the state experienced catastrophic flooding, structural damage, and unfortunately, loss of life. In response to the devastation, Governor Abbott ordered the entire Texas Military Forces to active status to assist those affected by the storm.

As a result, the Texas Civil Rights Division office received an influx of complaints from service members concerning job security, status and their rights while serving in an active duty status.

So, what laws exist to protect our military service members when called to active duty during these situations?

The Civil Rights Division (CRD) enforces Texas Government Code, Chapter 437, which protects a service member’s employment status when ordered to training or duty for a state and/or federal assignment.

Per the statute, service members cannot be terminated by their public or private employers when ordered to training or duty. Furthermore, the person may not be subjected to loss of time, efficiency rating, personal time, sick leave, or vacation time. 

Additionally, service members who are public employees, such as an officer or employee of Texas or a municipality, county, or another political subdivision of Texas are entitled to not more than 15 workdays of paid leave of absence when ordered to and engaged in training or duty. 

Here are two unique cases, in which the service members sought remedy through the CRD office.

In the first case, a Texas National Guardsman, who worked for a county, was authorized to take a leave of absence, in support of Hurricane Harvey, but was charged vacation leave and compensation time to pay for their authorized absences.

CRD assisted in both educating the employer on the employee’s protected entitlements and helped reinstate their vacation leave and compensation time.

In the second case, a private employer terminated a service member hours after it received notice that the service member had been called to active duty by the Governor to support victims of Hurricane Harvey.

As required by the statute, the service member notified the employer that they were recalled  by the Governor and provided written notification to the employer that they would be returning to work and when.

The employer notified the service member that he/she was terminated due to performance issues. The employer was able to show that it had placed the service member on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) almost two months earlier.

The employer provided written documentation that it had intended to terminate the service member days prior to the activation; however, the service member had not shown up to work until that day. As a result, the complaint was dismissed as no reasonable cause to believe a violation of law occurred.

In the first case, the employer either knowingly or unknowingly violated the Texas Military Member’s employment rights. When called to duty to support our state and/or nation in a crisis, our service members should be secure in their employment status so they can focus on the mission at hand.

In the second case, the employer was able to show that it did not violate the Texas Military Member’s employment rights. When faced with similar situations, the CRD encourages employees and employers to contact them to offer education, guidance, and/or enforcement as needed.

Submitted by the Texas Workforce Commission