FTC Faces Setback in U.S. District Court Over Noncompete Rule

On July 3, 2024, Judge Ada Brown of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas preliminarily enjoined the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") from enforcing the Final Noncompete Rule ("Rule") against the parties to the pending lawsuit.

At this time, the prohibition on enforcement of the Rule is limited to the parties to the lawsuit. After additional briefing, the court deferred broader relief to later proceedings and intends to rule on the merits of the claim for injunctive relief on or before August 30, 2024. More ›

Texas Governor Greg Abbott Issues Executive Order Prohibiting Mandatory Vaccination Policies

This week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott handed out the nation's most extensive ban against mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policies. Executive Order No. GA-40 prohibits any Texas employer from issuing COVID-19 mandates for employees or consumers. Specifically, the Order disallows any "entity" from compelling receipt of the COVID-19 vaccine for persons – employees or consumers – "who object to such vaccination for any reason of personal conscience, based on religious belief, or for medical reasons, including prior recovery from COVID-19." More ›

Texas Two-Step: State Passes Employee-Friendly Legislation

The 2021 regular session of the Texas Legislature produced two employee-friendly bills that found their way to the Governor's desk and were signed into law. Both laws will go into effect on September 1, 2021. More ›

Texas Supreme Court Clarifies Employer Liability on Obvious risk in Workplace Injuries

It's not too often that we hear of an employer being able to escape liability for a workplace injury, where the injury does, in fact, happen to an employee and it happens in the workplace. Below, we'll discuss a case where an employer did just that, however. More ›

Court Denies Employee’s Request to Revoke Settlement Agreement due to Invalid OWBPA Release

The chemical company worker was terminated in March 2009 due to an industrial accident. The worker challenged the termination through his union, and the union filed a grievance on his behalf. The employer denied the grievance, which prompted the union to file for arbitration under the collective bargaining agreement. The parties were ultimately able to reach a resolution prior to the arbitration. The worker and the employer entered into a settlement agreement and release of claims related to his termination.  More ›

Co-Workers’ Seemingly Ageist Remarks Insufficient to Create Triable Issue of fact in ADEA Case

During the course of an investigation into employees fraudulently submitting falsified customer service surveys, a 60 year-old employee was terminated. He subsequently filed an age-discrimination claim in Texas state court pursuant to the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act (TCHRA) and the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). In support of his claim, he claimed his co-workers called him names like "old man," "old fart," "pops," and "grandpa," but he never reported this before he was terminated. The District Court granted summary judgment on behalf of the employer. The employee appealed, contending the District Court 1) used the wrong causation standard in analyzing his termination and 2) erred in granting summary judgment on his hostile work environment claim. More ›