Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (Houston METRO)
Houston, TX
see the full file on Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (Houston METRO)documented benefits (6)
| Paid training | Bus operator training runs approximately 10 weeks and is paid at $24.43/hour - the same rate as the first six months on the road. The published progression then goes $25.00 at 12 months, $26.16 at two years, $27.33 at three years, $28.53 at four years and $29.14 after 48 months. Recruits without a Texas CDL with a P endorsement must pass General Knowledge, Commercial Vehicle Operating Knowledge, Passenger Relations, Air Brakes and a pre-trip inspection road test. No repayment or clawback clause is published. |
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| No experience needed | Bus operator: at least 21, high school diploma or GED from an accredited entity, able to speak/read/write English, a valid Texas driver's licence (or able to obtain one), licensed driver for at least three years, no more than two moving violations in three years, and three years of general work experience preferably including driving or customer service. You do not need a CDL to apply - you must be ABLE to obtain a Class B Texas CDL learner's permit and maintain the Class B with P endorsement. Bus mechanic entry is lower still: 18+, English, DOT physical, drug screen and background check. |
| Pension | NO DEFINED BENEFIT PENSION for new hires. Newly hired full-time union and non-union employees get a 457(b) deferred compensation plan and a 401(a) defined contribution plan, both administered by Empower. METRO auto-contributes 4% of salary to the 401(a) and matches 457(b) contributions up to a further 4% into the 401(a). Vesting: 40% at 2 years rising to 100% at 5, and you must work at least 1,000 hours a year. Union employees can retire at 60 with five years vested service or at any age with 28 years. |
| Schedule protection | Honest negative for operators: METRO runs 24/7 and bus operators must be available for any schedule including weekends and holidays. No seniority pick mechanism is published on the careers page. |
| Union contract | More than 2,500 field staff - bus operators, mechanics, facilities maintenance, light rail operators, service drivers, technicians and utility workers - are in primarily union positions and are paid weekly; the roughly 1,500 administrative staff are non-union and paid fortnightly. Union benefits are administered through a Health and Welfare Trust. Houston METRO's operators are represented by TWU Local 260. |
| Commuter benefit | yes |
the legal floor where they are
Set by law, not by Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County (Houston METRO). It applies to every employer in Houston, TX.
| IVF cycles the state covers | THERE IS NO FEDERAL MANDATE. No US law requires an employer health plan to cover IVF or any infertility treatment, so coverage comes either from the insurance mandate in the state where the plan is written or from the employer's own choice. And the state mandates reach less far than they look: they bind fully insured plans bought from a state-regulated carrier, while a self-funded employer plan is governed federally under ERISA and is preempted from state insurance regulation. KFF's 2025 employer survey puts 67% of covered workers in a self-funded plan, and 80% of those at firms of 200 or more — so at the size of employer this site mostly covers, the state mandate usually does not apply, and any fertility benefit is a genuine company choice rather than a restatement of law. That is precisely why it belongs on a benefits page here. Perks has not yet read this employer's own state insurance mandate from an official source; the states that have been read carry their own entry. (No federal statute requires an employer health plan to cover infertility treatment or IVF. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) preempts state insurance regulation as applied to self-funded employer plans, which is why a state mandate does not reach them.) |
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| Adoption leave the law gives | 12 workweeks of UNPAID job-protected leave in any 12-month period on the placement of a child for adoption or foster care, and only for employees who meet the FMLA eligibility test. There is no federal paid adoption leave. (Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U.S.C. 2612(a)(1)(B) and 2612(c); eligibility at 29 U.S.C. 2611(2) and (4). Quoted from the 2023 edition of the US Code.) |
| Pay when you are ill | No federal law requires any paid sick leave. The FLSA does not require payment for time not worked, and the FMLA gives 12 workweeks of UNPAID job-protected leave in any 12-month period for a serious health condition, and only for employees who meet the FMLA eligibility test. Any paid sick time comes from a state or city law, or from the employer's own choice. (Fair Labor Standards Act, per the Department of Labor's statement on payment for time not worked; Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, 29 U.S.C. 2612(a)(1)(D) and 2612(c). Quoted from the 2023 edition of the US Code on govinfo.gov.) |
Every claim above is sourced and dated. See sources on the full page.
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