Case Summaries

Subscribe to Case Summaries via RSS

In an issue of first impression, the El Paso Court of Appeals has held that the Assisted Living Facility Licensing Act creates a private right of action for an employee who has filed a complaint, grievance of providing information in good faith relating to personal care services of the assisted living facility.

In Emeritus Corp. v.

I keep reading reports that Wal-Mart v. Dukes, where the Court reversed a class certification including 1.5 million women (who worked all over the U.S. under different supervisors at different stores) that was based on the company giving supervisors too much discretion, 125 anecdotal stories and an expert report employing dubious social framework analysis, demonstrates that the Court has…

The Texas Supreme Court has issued an opinion this morning holding that noncompetition agreements supported by stock options and good will are not unenforceable as a matter of law.  I previewed this case here.  As I have time to digest the majority, concurring and dissenting opinions, I’ll provide more thoughts on this case. You…

The Fifth Circuit held today that a spouse of a successful Title VII plaintiff cannot maintain a legal claim for loss of consortium (i.e., loss of spousal services) under state and federal law.  In Barker, Tracey Barker was a civilian worker employed by Halliburton (aka KBR).  She claimed she was subjected to sexual harassment, retaliation and…

Earlier this week the Dallas Court of Appeals rejected an employee’s attempt to create a new wrongful termination cause of action.  In Martin v. Clinical Pathology Lab., Joyce Martin sued her employer for terminating her employment after she requested time off to vote in the November 2008 General Election.  According to her petition, Martin…

I have written some of the disadvantages of arbitration over other procedural methods of resolving cases such as waivers of jury trial.  (See post and post).  However, in an opinion from the Supreme Court of Texas, one disadvantage of arbitration (i.e., the limited appellate review of arbitration awards that is available) can be minimized…

The Fair Labor Standards Act is the federal law that requires most employers to pay a minimum wage and overtime.  The FLSA also includes an anti-retaliation provision that prohibits an employer from discharging any employee who has "filed a complaint" under the FLSA because of that complaint.  The issue at the high court in Kasten v. Saint-Gobain…

In an issue of first impression, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (the federal appellate court hearing cases from Texas), held that the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) provides no cause of action for a hostile work environment that is created because of a service member’s military service. 

The Plaintiffs, in Carder…