Sec. 51.116. RIGHT TO REEMPLOYMENT. (a) An employer may not terminate the employment of a permanent employee because the employee is required under Section 51.115 to attend a hearing. (b) An employee whose employment is terminated in violation of this section is entitled to return to the same employment that the employee held when notified of the hearing if the employee, as soon as practical after the hearing, gives the employer actual notice that the employee intends to return. (c) A person who is injured because of a violation of this section is entitled to reinstatement to the person's former position and to damages, but the damages may not exceed an amount equal to six months' compensation at the rate at which the person was compensated when required to attend the hearing. (d) The injured person is also entitled to reasonable attorney's fees in an amount approved by the court. (e) It is a defense to an action brought under this section that the employer's circumstances changed while the employee attended the hearing so that reemployment was impossible or unreasonable. To establish a defense under this subsection, an employer must prove that the termination of employment was because of circumstances other than the employee's attendance at the hearing.
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