HBA-JEK S.B. 1140 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisS.B. 1140 By: Carona State, Federal & International Relations 4/16/2001 Engrossed BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law prohibits a private employer from terminating the employment of a permanent employee who is a member of the state military forces because the employee is ordered to authorized military training or duty. The law provides that it is a defense to action that an employer's circumstances changed while the employee was in training or on duty to the extent that reemployment becomes impossible or unreasonable. However, the law does not address the question of who has the burden of proving that an employee was wrongfully rejected for employment, which can cause confusion in court. Senate Bill 1140 provides that an employer has the burden of proving the impossibility or unreasonableness of reemploying the employee under the employer's changed circumstances. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS Senate Bill 1140 amends the Government Code to provide that an employer who does not reemploy a permanent employee who returns from ordered military training or duty has the burden of proving the impossibility or unreasonableness of reemploying the employee under the employer's changed circumstances. The bill prohibits an employer from delaying or attempting to defeat a reemployment obligation by demanding documentation that does not exist or is not readily available. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001.