Bill: HB 786, 85(R) - 2017
Committee
House Business & Industry
Vote Recommendation
| Vote Recommendation |
Economic Freedom |
Property Rights |
Personal Responsibility |
Limited Government |
Individual Liberty |
| No |
Neutral |
Neutral |
Negative |
Negative |
Neutral |
Author(s)
Gary VanDeaver
Bill Caption
Relating to the prohibition of certain employment discrimination
regarding an employee who is a volunteer emergency responder.
Fiscal Notes
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
Bill Analysis
HB 786 would bar any employer from taking action or discriminating against an employee that is absent from work because they are a volunteer emergency responder. This bill provides a number of regulations governing the employee-employer relationship with respect to this issue including notification procedures and certain exemptions.
Vote Recommendation Notes
Giving preferential treatment to one group of citizens to the exclusion of other groups is not the proper role of government. This new mandate on private employers would violate our limited government principle. This would place a burden on employers who employ volunteer emergency responders who have to spend time away from work. This also interferes with the employer-employee relationship and likely will make emergency responders less attractive recruits as prospective employees. For these reasons we oppose HB 786.
