HBA-JEK H.B. 3472 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3472 By: Bailey Civil Practices 3/20/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Chapter 554 of the Government Code, commonly known as the Texas Whistleblower Act, establishes certain protections for public employees who report a violation of the law. The chapter sets forth procedures for filing suit to invoke these protections, and currently requires a suit to be filed no later than 90 days after an alleged violation. The law provides that an employee must first take advantage of any grievance or appeal procedures provided by the employing entity before filing suit. Time spent utilizing the employer-provided grievance or appeal procedure is not counted in the 90 day period, but the language of the statute has caused confusion for some employers and employees. House Bill 3472 sets forth provisions regarding the mediation of certain claims and the deadline to file suit in a claim brought by a public employee who reports a violation of the law. 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 3472 amends the Government Code to provide that a public employee who seeks relief for being retaliated against for reporting a violation of the law must sue or invoke the applicable grievance or appeal procedures not later than the 90th day after the date on which the suspension, termination, or other adverse personnel action rather than alleged violation occurred or was discovered by the employee. The bill requires a state or local governmental entity that has not adopted a grievance or appeal procedure for cases involving reported violations of the law to order the parties to mediate the employee's claim if one of the parties requests mediation. The bill prohibits a court that orders mediation from delaying the case for more than 90 days. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.