Employment Preemption in Austin, TX (2026)
3 verified employment preemption rules for Austin, Texas, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Minimum Wage Preemption
Austin cannot set a private-sector minimum wage. Tex. Lab. Code § 62.0515 preempts local wage ordinances, so the Texas Minimum Wage Act rate of $7.25/hour (matching federal FLSA) applies citywide. Austin pays its own City employees a higher living wage (most recently $20.80/hr under Council Resolution), but this floor does not extend to private employers.
Austin Minimum Wage: $7.25 Texas Floor Applies, Local Wage Preempted
Heavy RestrictionsPaid Leave Preemption
Austin's pioneering 2018 paid-sick-leave ordinance was struck down in Texas Ass'n of Business v. City of Austin, 565 S.W.3d 425 (Tex. App.-Austin 2018), as unconstitutional and preempted by the Texas Minimum Wage Act. The Texas Supreme Court denied review in 2020. The ordinance is unenforceable. Austin workers have no city-mandated paid sick leave — only federal FMLA (unpaid, 12 weeks).
Austin Paid Sick Leave: 2018 Ordinance Struck Down as Preempted
Heavy RestrictionsWorker Scheduling Preemption
The Texas Regulatory Consistency Act (HB 4, 2023) bars Texas cities from regulating employer scheduling practices. Austin has no fair-workweek or predictive-scheduling ordinance, and any future local rule would be preempted by state law.
Texas HB 4 Preempts Austin Predictive Scheduling
Few RestrictionsLooking for Travis County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Austin city rules.
Employment Preemption in Travis County →