Dallas adopted a paid-sick-leave ordinance in 2019, but a federal court enjoined it in 2020 (ESI/Employee Sols. v. City of Dallas, N.D. Tex.) as preempted by the Texas Minimum Wage Act. The ordinance is unenforceable. Private-sector Dallas workers have no city-mandated paid leave; only federal FMLA (unpaid, 12 weeks) and employer-provided benefits apply.
Dallas City Council passed a paid-sick-leave ordinance in April 2019 modeled on Austin's. In March 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a preliminary injunction (ESI/Employee Solutions LP v. City of Dallas, No. 3:19-cv-570) blocking enforcement, holding the ordinance preempted by Tex. Lab. Code § 62.0515 because paid sick leave functions as wage regulation. The court followed the Texas Third Court of Appeals' reasoning in Texas Ass'n of Business v. City of Austin (2018). The Dallas ordinance remains on the books but cannot be enforced. The Texas Legislature has not authorized local paid-leave mandates. Texas has no state-level paid sick or paid family leave program. Federal FMLA (29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq.) provides up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave at employers with 50+ employees.
The Dallas paid-sick-leave ordinance carries no enforceable penalties due to the federal injunction. FMLA violations are enforced by the U.S. DOL Wage & Hour Division; remedies include back wages, restoration, and liquidated damages under 29 U.S.C. § 2617. Employer-provided PTO policies are enforceable as contracts under Texas law.
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