Texas Employment Law: Right-To-Work

Austin, TXTexas employment law protects Texas employee rights by regulating how employers must treat their employees. One provision that has far reaching implications for the average Texas employee is the Right-to-Work law, which puts strict guidelines on organizations who want to make joining a union a requirement of employment.

Not every state has "right-to-work" provisions. In Texas, right-to-work laws make it illegal to require that an employee join a union or provide financial support to that union as a condition of employment. Essentially, the right-to-work provisions gives employees in Texas the ability to decide for themselves whether or not they want to join or financially support a union.

Under the Texas Right-to-Work Act, employees have the right to bargain either individually or collectively, the right not to have money held from a paycheck for union dues without their consent and the right to not be denied employment based on union membership. Furthermore, it is illegal for an employer to refuse to hire a potential employee because the employee wants to join a union.

According to the website of Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, (oag.state.tx.us) "…the choice of whether to join a labor union is yours; you may not be required to join or pay dues to a union as a condition of employment, nor may you be denied employment because you have joined a union."

Furthermore, "If your employer has entered into a collective bargaining agreement with a union which requires employees to make payments to, or on behalf of, a labor union under the agreement as a condition of employment (often referred to as a 'union security clause'), your employer may be in violation of Texas right-to-work laws."

According to a newsletter sent out by the Texas Workforce Commission (Texas Business Today, Summer, 1999), some people confuse the Texas at-will employment provision with the right-to-work provision. The newsletter notes that at-will employment means that either party in an employment relationship can end the relationship "with or without cause and with or without notice," although there are exceptions to that rule. Meanwhile, the newsletter states, "Right-to-work refers only to collective bargaining and union issues."

Despite Texas' Right-to-Work laws, some employers or organizations have attempted to fire employees because they refused to join a union or pay union dues. In 2007, Abbott filed a lawsuit against a union and an employer because a security guard was allegedly fired for refusing to join a union or pay union fees. A federal administrative law judge reinstated the employee to his position. The suit against the union and the employer alleges that they entered into an unlawful contract requiring employees to join the union or pay union dues.