Bill

HB 133

86(R) - 2019
House Business & Industry
House Business & Industry

Vote Recommendation

No
  • Negative
  • Neutral
  • Neutral
  • Negative
  • Negative

Author(s)

Terry Canales

Bill Caption

Relating to the payment of gratuities to certain employees.

Fiscal Notes

No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

Bill Analysis

HB 133 would prohibit employers from collecting any part of an employee's tips or gratuity for any purpose, including paying the cost of the credit or debit card swipe fee associated with an employee's tips. 

Vote Recommendation Notes

Texas Action opposes HB 133. This bill infringes on the employer/employee relationship by mandating certain business practices. Prohibiting a business from recovering the costs of swipe fees associated with tips added to a bill paid by credit or debit card increases the cost of doing business and essentially requires an employer to subsidize an employee's gratuity.

Restaurants already run on extremely tight margins and this bill may push restaurants that are barely surviving over the edge. The servers this intends to help would be unintentionally harmed because they would lose their jobs entirely in the event that their employers go out of business.