HBA-DMH H.B. 3042 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3042
By: Lewis, Glenn
Business & Industry
4/6/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

In 1999, the legislature enacted legislation to grant immunity from civil
liability to an employer who discloses truthful information about an
employee's performance to a prospective employer.  When releasing such
information, an employer could make disparaging statements to a prospective
employer without an employee's knowledge, thus inhibiting an employee's
opportunity to address the validity of the statements. House Bill 3042
modifies the authority of an employer to disclose employee information to a
prospective employer by enabling an employee to contest the accuracy of the
information submitted to a prospective employer. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 3042 amends the Labor Code to authorize an employer disclosing
information regarding current or former employees to a prospective employer
to disclose the information only in writing. Before providing the
information to a prospective employer, the bill provides that the
disclosing employer must notify the affected employee in writing that the
information has been requested.  

The bill provides that a current or former employee about whom the
information is to be disclosed is entitled to a copy of the information
before the information is disclosed to a prospective employer if the
employee delivers to the disclosing employer a written request for the
information not later than the fifth day after the date on which the
employee receives the notice.  The bill provides that the disclosing
employer must provide an affected employee an opportunity to contest the
accuracy of the information by submitting a statement of reasonable length
to accompany the information to be disclosed to the prospective employer.
To accompany the information, the statement must be delivered to the
disclosing employer not later than the fifth day after the date the
employee receives the copy of the information from the disclosing employer.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act
takes effect September 1, 2001.