Houston has no local paid sick leave or paid family leave ordinance, and cannot adopt one. Texas courts and the Texas Legislature have made clear that local paid-sick-leave mandates are preempted by the Texas Minimum Wage Act (Tex. Lab. Code Ch. 62), because paid leave is a form of wage. Only federal FMLA (unpaid, 12 weeks, qualifying employers) and employer-provided benefits apply to Houston workers.
When Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio passed paid-sick-leave ordinances in 2018-2019, Texas appellate courts struck them down as unconstitutional under Article XVI, § 28 of the Texas Constitution and as preempted by the Texas Minimum Wage Act — see Texas Ass'n of Business v. City of Austin, 565 S.W.3d 425 (Tex. App.-Austin 2018). The Texas Supreme Court denied review in 2020, leaving the preemption ruling intact. As a result, Houston has not attempted a paid-sick-leave ordinance for private employers. Houston offers paid leave to its own municipal employees under City Personnel Rules, but private-sector workers in Houston have no city-mandated paid sick, vacation, or family leave. Federal law gives eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (29 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq.) for qualifying medical or family reasons; Texas has no state-level paid sick or family leave program.
Because no local paid-leave mandate exists, there are no city penalties. FMLA violations are enforced by the U.S. DOL Wage & Hour Division and may result in back-pay, restoration, and liquidated damages under 29 U.S.C. § 2617. Private employers' written PTO policies are enforceable as contracts under Texas common law.
Other ordinances people look up for this city. Green dot = verified primary-source excerpt.
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