HUMAN TRAFFICKING TRAINING AND CERTIFICATION

Houston Code of Ordinances ch. 28, art. VI, div. 2

in effect

Houston Code of Ordinances § 28-211 Definitions.

Sec. 28-211. - Definitions. The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this division, shall have the same meanings as provided in this section, except where the context clearly indicates a different meaning: Department means the department of administration and regulatory affairs. Director means the director of the department and the director's designees. Employee means any person who is directly employed in consideration of direct monetary wages. Hotel means any building or buildings in which the public may, for a consideration, obtain sleeping accommodations. The term shall include hotels, motels, courts, inns, rooming houses, or other buildings where rooms are furnished for a consideration as well as the parking lot and other common areas, but shall not include hospitals, sanitariums, nursing homes, tourist homes, houses, boarding homes as defined in section 28-451 of this Code or lodging facilities as defined in section 28-601 of this Code. Hotel operator means a person who owns, operates, manages or controls a hotel within the city. Human trafficking means: (1) Sex trafficking by way of the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act in which the commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion or in which the person induced to perform such act has not yet attained 18 years of age; or (2) Labor trafficking by way of the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of labor or services through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery. Occupant has the same meaning as provided in section 44-101 of this Code. (Ord. No. 2020-319, § 2, 4-15-2020)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 28-212 Hotels must provide human trafficking training; certification of training required.

Sec. 28-212. - Hotels must provide human trafficking training; certification of training required. (a) A hotel operator must provide at least 20 minutes of annual training to each hotel employee on how to identify human trafficking activities and victims and how to report human trafficking. (b) Except as provided by subsection (c) of this section, the human trafficking training required by this section shall be approved by the mayor's office on human trafficking, completed either in person or online in the manner prescribed by rule or regulation promulgated pursuant to section 28-216 of this Code. The training shall include, but not be limited to, the following: (1) An overview of human trafficking, including the experience of its victims, how and why human trafficking takes place in the hospitality industry, and how it is defined under federal law; (2) Guidance on how to identify individuals who are most at risk for human trafficking; (3) An explanation of the difference between labor and sex trafficking specific to the hotel sector; (4) Guidance on the role of hospitality employees in reporting and responding to this issue; (5) The contact information of appropriate agencies, including, but not limited to, the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free telephone number and text line, and the telephone numbers of the appropriate local law enforcement agencies; and (6) If online, the training shall contain a pacing mechanism that requires the trainee to read all course material, view all videos, and complete all coursework before generating a certificate. (c) Each trainee's completion of the training shall be documented with an attendance sheet or a certificate. (d) The mayor's office on human trafficking shall publish a list of preapproved programs that satisfy the human trafficking awareness training requirements set forth in this section. (e) After July 14, 2020, a hotel operator must provide the training described in subsection (b) of this section to any new employee within 30 days after the employee's hire. (f) A hotel operator shall certify to the director by no later than March 31 of each year, beginning March 31, 2021, on a form promulgated pursuant to section 28-216 of this Code, that all of the hotel's employees that were hired by March 1 of the same year have completed the training required by this section. (g) A late processing fee specified in the city fee schedule shall be assessed against a hotel operator that fails to comply with subsection (e) of this section. For purposes of avoiding this late processing fee, the date of the certification shall be the date that it is actually received by the director in complete and valid form; provided, however, that mailed submission forms shall be deemed to have been received on the postmark date, if legible. (h) A hotel operator shall maintain records sufficient to verify and substantiate the hotel operator's full compliance with sections 28-212(a) and (f) of this Code. A hotel operator shall produce the records described in this section to the director or to a police officer within 72 hours after receiving a request for the same. (i) The director shall keep a record of all training certifications and attendance sheets received annually from hotel operators for at least two years. (Ord. No. 2020-319, § 2, 4-15-2020)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 28-213 Display of hotline information.

Sec. 28-213. - Display of hotline information. (a) A hotel operator shall prominently display in clear view of all employees a sign in accordance with the standards set forth in rules promulgated by the director, including a statement that employees of the hotel must receive annual human trafficking training and information on how to recognize and report it. (b) The sign required in subsection (a) above shall be posted in English, Spanish, and any other language that is spoken by at least 10% of the hotel's employees. A separate sign shall be posted for each required language. (Ord. No. 2020-319, § 2, 4-15-2020)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 28-214 Retaliation or discrimination prohibited.

Sec. 28-214. - Retaliation or discrimination prohibited. No hotel operator, his agent or representative, nor any employee may discharge from employment, discipline or otherwise punish, retaliate or discriminate against any person as a reprisal for the person's having made a good-faith report of a suspected act of human trafficking to that person's employer or any appropriate law enforcement agency or the National Human Trafficking Hotline. (Ord. No. 2020-319, § 2, 4-15-2020)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 28-215 Penalty.

Sec. 28-215. - Penalty. (a) The director shall inform a hotel operator of any discovered failure to comply with this section. Subsequently, the hotel operator must within 30 days either cure the violation or demonstrate to the director that the finding of non-compliance was incorrect. If, after 30 days, the director determines that the hotel operator has failed to cure the violation, the hotel will be subject to a penalty as set forth in subsection (b). (b) This division is subject to the provisions of section 1-6 of this Code. The first violation of the provisions in this division shall be punishable by a fine of $100.00 as provided therein; the second and any subsequent violation by the same hotel shall be punishable by a fine of $500.00. Each day any violation continues shall constitute and be punishable as a separate offense. (Ord. No. 2020-319, § 2, 4-15-2020)

Houston Code of Ordinances § 28-216 Rules and regulations.

Sec. 28-216. - Rules and regulations. The director is hereby authorized to promulgate rules and regulations consistent with the intent and purposes of the provisions of this article. A copy of all rules and regulations shall be maintained by the department, published on the department's website, and be made available in the office of the city secretary for inspection by the public, and copies shall be made available for purchase consistent with the fees prescribed by law. (Ord. No. 2020-319, § 2, 4-15-2020)

Source: City of Houston, Code of Ordinances and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/tx/houston/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=COOR_CH28MIOFPR_ARTVIHO_DIV2HUTRTRCEFetched: 10/26/2026