H.B. No. 1151
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to sexual harassment protection for unpaid interns.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter C, Chapter 21, Labor Code, is amended
  by adding Section 21.1065 to read as follows:
         Sec. 21.1065.  SEXUAL HARASSMENT PROTECTIONS FOR UNPAID
  INTERNS. (a) In this section, "sexual harassment" means an
  unwelcome sexual advance, a request for a sexual favor, or any other
  verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature if:
               (1)  submission to the advance, request, or conduct is
  made a term or condition of an individual's internship, either
  explicitly or implicitly;
               (2)  submission to or rejection of the advance,
  request, or conduct by an individual is used as the basis for a
  decision affecting the individual's internship;
               (3)  the advance, request, or conduct has the purpose
  or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work
  performance at the individual's internship; or
               (4)  the advance, request, or conduct has the purpose
  or effect of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive
  working environment.
         (b)  An employer commits an unlawful employment practice if
  sexual harassment of an unpaid intern occurs and the employer or the
  employer's agents or supervisors:
               (1)  know or should have known that the conduct
  constituting sexual harassment was occurring; and
               (2)  fail to take immediate and appropriate corrective
  action.
         (c)  In this section, an individual is considered to be an
  unpaid intern of an employer if:
               (1)  the individual's internship, even though it
  includes engagement in the employer's operations or the performance
  of productive work for the employer, is similar to training that
  would be given in an educational environment;
               (2)  the individual's internship experience is for the
  individual's benefit;
               (3)  the individual does not displace the employer's
  regular employees but works under close supervision of the
  employer's existing staff;
               (4)  the employer does not derive any immediate
  advantage from the individual's internship activities and on
  occasion the employer's operations may be impeded by those
  activities;
               (5)  the individual is not entitled to a job at the
  conclusion of the internship; and
               (6)  the individual is not entitled to wages for the
  time spent in the internship.
         SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
  to a claim of discrimination based on conduct that occurs on or
  after the effective date of this Act. A claim of discrimination
  that is based on conduct that occurs before the effective date of
  this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the conduct
  occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that
  purpose.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 1151 was passed by the House on April
  16, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 146, Nays 0, 2 present, not
  voting.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
 
         I certify that H.B. No. 1151 was passed by the Senate on May
  27, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
  APPROVED:  _____________________
                     Date          
   
            _____________________
                   Governor