Texas House Bill 4 of 2023, the Texas Regulatory Consistency Act, broadly preempts local labor regulation. Bexar County cannot require private employers to provide paid sick leave, paid family leave, or other paid time off beyond state and federal law.
House Bill 4 of the 88th Texas Legislature, often called the Death Star bill, amended Texas Local Government Code Chapter 229 to bar counties and cities from adopting ordinances regulating fields covered by state labor law. Earlier paid sick leave ordinances passed in San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas were enjoined by Texas courts. Bexar County has no authority to mandate private paid leave. The county may offer paid leave to its own workforce and may follow federal Family and Medical Leave Act unpaid-leave rules. Private employers set their own paid leave policies, subject only to contract and federal law.
No county-level paid-leave violations exist because the county cannot impose such requirements. Workers seeking unpaid FMLA leave enforce rights through the U.S. Department of Labor or federal court.
See how Universal City's paid leave preemption rules stack up against other locations.
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