Sec. 65.063. RIGHT TO REEMPLOYMENT. (a) An employer may not terminate the employment of a permanent employee because the employee is required under Section 65.062(b) to attend a hearing.
(b) Notwithstanding any other law, an employee whose employment is terminated in violation of this section is entitled to return to the same employment that the employee held when notified of the hearing if the employee, as soon as practical after the hearing, gives the employer actual notice that the employee intends to return.
(c) A person who is injured because of a violation of this section is entitled to:
(1) reinstatement to the person's former position;
(2) damages not to exceed an amount equal to six times the amount of monthly compensation received by the person on the date of the hearing; and
(3) reasonable attorney's fees in an amount approved by the court.
(d) It is a defense to an action brought under this section that the employer's circumstances changed while the employee attended the hearing and caused reemployment to be impossible or unreasonable. To establish a defense under this subsection, an employer must prove that the termination of employment was because of circumstances other than the employee's attendance at the hearing.
Added by Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 935 (H.B. 2398), Sec. 27, eff. September 1, 2015.
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