The Issue

While Texas has earned a business-friendly reputation, local governments are increasingly interfering in the employer-employee relationship by way of regulation. The regulatory regimes currently devised force employers to offer specific incentives while making it difficult for employees to bargain for other benefits.

Examples of harmful regulations include requiring employers to offer mandatory paid sick leave; dictating scheduling practices; ordering the provision of health insurance, life insurance, and retirement; and barring a private employer from looking at a prospective employee’s criminal history when considering them for a job.

Local governments who mandate the terms of employment are overstepping their bounds. Private sector employers and employees should be able to negotiate employment terms without interference from local governments. Texas should strive to create an economic environment in which employment regulations are minimal, consistent, and uniform.

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