Texas HB 4 (2023), the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act, preempts city paid-leave mandates. Fort Worth never enacted a paid-leave ordinance, and any future attempt would be voided. No state mandate exists, so paid leave is left to employer policy and federal FMLA.
The 2023 Texas Regulatory Consistency Act (HB 4), codified across multiple Texas codes, broadly preempts municipal regulation of employer-employee relations including paid leave, hours, and scheduling. Fort Worth never adopted a citywide paid sick leave ordinance, unlike Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas, all of which had ordinances enjoined before HB 4 finalized the preemption. No Texas state law mandates paid sick leave for private employers. Federal Family and Medical Leave Act continues to provide unpaid job-protected leave for eligible workers at employers with 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius. Some Fort Worth employers offer paid leave voluntarily; nothing in city law requires it.
There is no Fort Worth paid-leave penalty because no ordinance exists. Federal FMLA violations carry back-pay, reinstatement, and civil penalties enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor and private suit, but no city fine applies to private leave practices.
Fort Worth, TX
Texas Labor Code Chapter 62 reserves minimum-wage authority to the state and ties Texas to the federal $7.25 floor. Fort Worth cannot enact a higher city min...
Fort Worth, TX
The Texas Regulatory Consistency Act (HB 4, 2023) bars cities from regulating employer scheduling practices. Fort Worth has no fair-workweek or predictive-sc...
See how Fort Worth's paid leave preemption rules stack up against other locations.
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