Skip to content
Texas SB 45 Compliance for Employers With 1–14 Employees

Texas SB 45 starts with employee #1. Your defense should, too.

If you employ even one person, Texas sexual harassment law applies to your business. A downloaded policy is not a response plan. You need a safe way for employees to report concerns, managers who know what to do next, and dated proof that your company took prevention and corrective action seriously, before a complaint puts your business to the test.

The Risk Most Small Employers Miss

The 15-employee rule does not protect you in Texas.

Federal Title VII coverage generally begins at 15 employees. Texas SB 45 begins at one. Since 2021, even the smallest Texas employers can face sexual harassment claims, and the question becomes whether you knew, should have known, and took immediate and appropriate corrective action.

1 employee
Where Texas SB 45 begins
There is no small-business exemption for sexual harassment claims under this Texas law.
Source: Tex. Labor Code 21.141
15 employees
Where federal Title VII coverage generally begins
Being below this threshold does not exempt you from Texas law. It means you are operating in a gap many small employers do not realize exists.
Source: EEOC coverage thresholds
300 days
How long a Texas complaint may remain possible
HB 21 extended the filing deadline for Texas sexual harassment complaints. An incident may be nearly ten months old before a complaint is filed.
Source: Tex. Labor Code 21.202(a-1), added by HB 21
Built Before You Need It

The system you need before the complaint you cannot predict.

No oversized HR platform. No generic handbook followed by hope. You get a practical prevention, reporting, and response system designed specifically for Texas employers with 1–14 employees.

Train Every Role, Then Prove It

Employees learn what crosses the line and how to report it. Managers learn what to recognize, escalate, document, and avoid doing after a concern is raised. Every completion is recorded by employee and date.

Give Employees a Way Around the Org Chart

Employees can report concerns by phone, email, or web without going through the owner or manager. That matters when the person they would normally report to is the person involved.

Get Advice Before the Costly Next Move

Your owner or manager can call for same-business-day guidance before changing a schedule, sending an email, disciplining an employee, or making a termination decision. The response after a complaint often creates more exposure than the original incident.

Find Problems While They Are Still Fixable

A confidential quarterly check-in gives employees another opportunity to raise concerns. Issues can surface earlier, while they are still manageable, and every check-in creates a dated record showing that your business was actively looking for problems.

Turn Good Intentions Into a Paper Trail

We build your anti-harassment policy, complaint procedure, acknowledgments, training records, and documentation structure around the Texas standard. Because when your response is questioned, what you can prove matters more than what you intended.

Don't Investigate Your Own Team Alone

If a complaint arrives, neutral third-party investigation support is already available. You will not have to figure out the process, or ask one employee to investigate a close colleague, while the clock is running.

Fixed Price

Everything above, for $129 per month.

One rate for Texas employers with 1 to 14 employees, covering the training, the hotline, the advisory line, the quarterly check-ins, the policy work, and investigation support. The assessment that comes first is free and produces a written gap report either way.

A Defensible Program, Not Another Binder

Go from "we'll handle it" to ready, and documented.

Most small employers have fragments: a handbook, an informal reporting process, or training nobody documented. We turn those fragments into a working system.

  1. 1

    See Exactly Where the Gaps Are

    Start with a free 30-minute assessment. We review your policy, training records, reporting process, and current documentation. You receive a written gap report whether you hire us or not.

  2. 2

    Put the Right Structure in Place

    We create the Texas-specific policy and complaint procedure, activate the independent reporting hotline, and give managers access to the advisory line.

  3. 3

    Train the Team and Document It

    Employees and managers complete role-specific training. Every completion is timestamped, giving you records that can be produced if your response is ever questioned.

  4. 4

    Keep the Program Working

    Quarterly employee check-ins continue, the hotline remains available, and managers can get guidance when an issue arises. Your documentation builds over time instead of being reconstructed after the fact.

Want to Read the Law First?

Good. Know what changed before you buy anything.

Start with our plain-English guides to the one-employee threshold, the 300-day filing window, and the immediate-corrective-action standard. Then decide whether your current process would hold up if a complaint arrived tomorrow.

FAQ

Common questions

We only have nine employees. Does this really apply to us?
Yes, for sexual harassment claims under Texas law. Since September 1, 2021, the relevant provisions apply to employers with one or more employees. Federal Title VII coverage generally begins at 15 employees, but that does not create an exemption from Texas SB 45.
Doesn't being small limit what we could actually lose?
Not as much as many employers assume. Legal defense costs, lost management time, operational disruption, and reputational harm do not shrink because your payroll is small. The most preventable risk is entering a claim with no reporting path, no training record, and no documented response process.
Is the small-employer training a lesser version?
No. It is scoped to your actual workforce. Employees receive foundational prevention and reporting training. Managers receive additional instruction on recognition, escalation, documentation, and retaliation. What we remove is irrelevant multi-state content, not the protection your Texas business needs.
What are the quarterly check-ins?
They are short, confidential employee check-ins sent four times a year. We believe in being proactive. Each one gives employees another opportunity to raise something they have not reported, and creates a dated record demonstrating that your company was actively checking for concerns.
Our managers are also the owners. Who would employees report to?
That is exactly why an independent channel matters. Employees can report through the external hotline without going through the person their concern may involve. Your business also receives documented evidence that a real alternative reporting path existed.
What does the program cost?
The program is $129 per month for employers with 1 to 14 employees. Your initial assessment is free, and you receive your written gap report before deciding whether to engage us.
What happens when we reach 15 employees?
We help you transition to the standard program as federal coverage and additional requirements become relevant. Your existing policies, reporting system, training records, and documentation carry forward, so growth does not create a new compliance gap.

A complaint is the wrong time to discover the gaps.

In 30 minutes, we will review your policy, training records, reporting options, and response process. You will receive a written gap report you can act on, with empathiHR or without us.