FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 28, 2019
AUSTIN – Texas Freedom Network President Kathy Miller today warned that a bill that already strips away the ability of cities and counties to require earned paid sick leave and other basic benefits for workers now threatens nondiscrimination protections for LGBT workers.
“Frankly, bills like this make Texas look like a cruel place to live and work. It’s bad enough that SB15 bars local governments from making sure workers don’t have to choose between keeping their jobs and taking care of their health and their families. Now the bill’s authors have made it even worse by potentially gutting local protections that ensure everyone, including gay and transgender workers, be treated equally by their employers.”
SB15 by Senators Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, Dawn Buckingham, R-Lakeway, and Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, would bar local governments from adopting ordinances that improve economic security and public health such as earned paid sick leave requirements. A substitute bill passed by the Senate State Affairs Committee today removes a section that had explicitly exempted local nondiscrimination ordinances from the bill’s provisions. Removing that exemption for nondiscrimination protections raises serious concerns that employers might choose to withhold employment benefits from LGBT workers and their families.
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The Texas Freedom Network is a nonpartisan, grassroots organization building an informed and effective movement for equality and social justice.
