Skip to content
Breadcrumbs

eXpendit

Note: To navigate this guide on a mobile device you must use the Table of Contents.

Expenditures Related to State Officers and Employees
Physical and Psychological Examinations or Treatments

A state agency may pay for a physical or psychological examination of an employee of the agency if:

  • The payment does not constitute a grant of public money to private individuals for private purposes, and
  • The agency has specific or implied statutory authority to make the payment.

Each time a state agency wants to pay for a physical or psychological examination, the agency must research state statutes to determine if it has implied authority to do so. No state law authorizes state agencies to pay for the physical and psychological examinations of their employees.

A state agency may pay for any periodic physical examination of an employee required by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations, but only if the agency has a specific appropriation for that purpose.

Definition:

State Agency
A board, commission, department, office or other agency in the executive, judicial or legislative branch of state government that has at least five employees, was created by the Constitution or a statute of this state, and has authority not limited to a specific geographical portion of the state. (Texas Labor Code Section 412.001(4))

Sources [+]

Texas Labor Code Section 412.011(b)(4), 412.041(j)(2); 28 Texas Administrative Code Section 251.402; 29 C.F.R. Section 1910.120(a)(1), (3), (f), (q)(9) (LEXIS through the Jan. 21, 2004, issue of the Federal Register); Texas Government Code Section 659.061.Title 29 part 1910 and 1926.

Peace officers

A person may not be appointed to serve as a peace officer unless the person holds a license issued by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE). TCOLE may not issue a license to a person as a peace officer unless the person is examined by:

  • A licensed psychologist or by a psychiatrist who declares in writing the person is in satisfactory psychological and emotional health to serve as a peace officer; and
  • A licensed physician who declares in writing the person does not show any trace of drug dependency or illegal drug use after a physical examination, blood test or other medical test.

The hiring agency will select the examining psychologist or psychiatrist and physician. The agency may pay the psychologist, psychiatrist or physician fee if the agency has specific or implied statutory authority to employ peace officers and make the payment.

There is no specific statutory requirement for a licensed peace officer to submit to psychological or physical examinations after they receive their license. However, a state agency may pay for a post-licensing physical or psychological examination if necessary for the agency to fulfill its statutory duties.

Definition:

Peace Officer
A person elected, employed or appointed as a peace officer under Texas Criminal Procedure Code Annotated Article 2.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, or other law. (Texas Occupations Code Section 1701.001(4))

Sources [+]

Texas Occupations Code Sections 1701.301, 1701.306(a)–(b).

Exposure of certain state employees to contagious diseases

A public safety employee who is exposed to a contagious disease is entitled to be reimbursed for reasonable medical expenses incurred in treatment for the prevention of the disease if:

  • The disease is not an “ordinary disease of life” in the context of a workers’ compensation claim,
  • The exposure to the disease occurs during the course of the employment, and
  • The employee requires preventative medical treatment because of exposure to the disease.

A public safety employee who is entitled to reimbursement of medical expenses is also entitled to choose the physician to provide the treatment.

A certified firefighter or other governmental employee who operates an ambulance or responds to emergency medical calls, is entitled to preventative immunization for any disease that he/she may be exposed to while performing official duties. The immediate family of the firefighters or employees are also entitled to vaccination for a contagious disease to which the firefighters or employees are exposed during the course of employment. A state agency may satisfy these requirements by:

  • Providing the vaccination or immunization without charge, or
  • Reimbursing the firefighter or employee for necessary and reasonable expenses incurred for the vaccination or immunization.

Definition:

Public Safety Employee
A peace officer, firefighter, detention officer, county jailer or emergency medical services employee of the State. (Texas Government Code Section 607.001)

Sources [+]

Texas Government Code Sections 607.002-607.004.

Workers’ compensation claimants

The state must pay the cost of any examination the Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission (TWCC) requires a state employee to submit to. If the employee elects to have a doctor of the employee’s choice present at the examination, the state must pay the doctor’s fee as fixed by TWCC.

Source [+]

Texas Labor Code Section 408.004(b)–(d).

Texas Department of Criminal Justice

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) may use appropriated funds to provide medical attention and hospitalization by correctional medical staff, or pay a necessary medical expense for an employee injured while performing the duties of a hazardous position, if the cost is not reimbursed by workers’ compensation or the state group insurance program.

The agency may use appropriated funds to pay for a medical test or procedure on an employee required by federal or state law or regulation, if the test or procedure is required as a result of the employee’s job assignment or when considered necessary because of potential or existing litigation.

Definition:

Hazardous Position
A position for which the regular and normal duties inherently involve the risk or peril of bodily injury or harm. (Rider 14 in the appropriations to the Department of Criminal Justice in the General Appropriations Act)

Source [+]

Rider 14 in the appropriations to the Department of Criminal Justice in the General Appropriations Act.

Texas Facilities Commission

The Texas Facilities Commission (TFC) may use appropriated funds to pay for the medical testing of an employee or prospective employee that works in a high-risk environment, such as a sewage system or one involving asbestos removal. The funds may only be used for testing for the safety of the employee or public, and with the approval of TFC’s executive director.

In addition, TFC may use appropriated funds to pay for immunizations for an employee required to work in a high-risk environment.

Sources [+]

Sources: Rider 6 in the appropriations to the Texas Facilities Commission (TFC) in the General Appropriations Act. State Purchasing and General Services Act, Texas Government Code Section 2151.003 (1).

Department of State Health Services

The Department of State Health Services may use funds appropriated by the General Appropriations Act (GAA) to pay for any immunization required of an employee at risk in the performance of the employee’s duties.

Source [+]

Rider 30 in the appropriations to the Department of State Health Services in the General Appropriations Act.

Certain institutions of higher education

  1. The University of Texas System - The University of Texas system must designate an appropriate number of licensed, practicing physicians for performing physical examinations of employees or prospective employees to determine if they are physically fit to perform the duties to which they have been assigned. Source: Texas Labor Code Section 503.064(a).
  2. The Texas A & M University System - The Texas A & M University System may require prospective employees to submit to a physical examination and be certified by a physician or chiropractor to be physically fit to perform the duties and services to which they are to be assigned. Source: Texas Labor Code Sections 502.064(b).

    Definitions:

    Employee
    A person employed in the service of the system under an appointment or oral or written express contract for hire whose name appears on the system’s payroll. (Texas Labor Code Sections 503.001(2))
    Institution
    An institution of higher education or agency under the direction of the board of regents of The University of Texas System. (Texas Labor Code Sections 503.001(3))
  3. Texas State Technical College System - The Board of Regents of the Texas State Technical College System may provide workers’ compensation insurance for its employees. If the board provides the insurance, the board may pay for the pre-employment physical examinations of its employees in the same way an agency or institution under the direction or governance of the Board of Regents of The Texas A & M University System may.

See also: Drug Testing.

Source [+]

Texas Education Code Section 135.58.

Texas Juvenile Justice Department

The Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) may use appropriated funds to provide medical attention by medical staff and infirmaries at TYC facilities for an employee injured while performing the duties of a hazardous position, if the cost of treating the injury is not reimbursed by workers’ compensation or the state group insurance program.

The agency may also use appropriated funds to pay for a medical test or procedure on an employee required by federal or state law or regulation, if the test or procedure is required as a result of the employee’s job assignment or when considered necessary because of potential or existing litigation.

Definition:

Hazardous Position
A position for which the regular and normal duties inherently involve the risk or peril of bodily injury or harm. (Rider 8 in the appropriations for the Youth Commission in the General Appropriations Act)

Source [+]

Rider 10 in the appropriations for the Texas Juvenile Justice Department in the General Appropriations Act.

Documentation Requirements [+]

  1. A state agency must retain documentation in its files citing the statutory authority for the agency’s payment of physical or psychological examinations and stating how the payment of those examinations serves a proper public purpose.
  2. Upon request, the agency must make the documentation available to the Comptroller’s office during a pre-payment or a post-payment audit.
  3. Comptroller object 7248 must be used.