A recent case from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals should remind HR Directors (and supervisors) to be particularly vigilant in handling employee FMLA leaves of absence. In Graziadio v. Culinary Institute of America, the appellate court reversed a trial court victory for the employer and the two individual supervisors (one of whom was
Case Summaries
Fifth Circuit Refuses to Enforce Illusory Handbook Arbitration Provision
By Russell Cawyer on
Posted in Arbitration, Case Summaries
It’s a rare day when a Texas state court or federal court sitting in Texas refuses to enforce an arbitration agreement. The Texas law is well-developed on this issue and the table is heavily tilted in favor of arbitration. Consequently, most employer arbitration programs in Texas are enforced. However, a recent opinion from the Fifth…
Houston Court of Appeals Holds that Allegation of Constructive Discharge Must be Included in the Charge of Discrimination
By Russell Cawyer on
In an opinion likely to prove useful to employers defending a termination based on a constructive discharge theory, a Houston Court of Appeals held that a resigning employee whose charge of discrimination lacks an allegation of constructive discharge, fails to exhaust his administrative remedies on that theory. In court of appeals opinion, Parker was an…
Texas Supreme Court Agrees to Hear TCHRA Preemption Case
By Russell Cawyer on
The Supreme Court of Texas agreed to hear a case affirming summary judgment in favor of an employer sued for the acts of its supervisor in a sexual assault case. In B.C. v. Steak and Shake Operations, the Dallas Court of Appeals held that the employee’s common law tort claims (i.e., assault, battery, and…
Fifth Circuit Holds Mandatory Travel Time May Render Meal Periods Compensable under FLSA
By Russell Cawyer on
Posted in Case Summaries, Wage & Hour
The wave of wage and hour collective actions being filed and litigated in the district courts in the Fifth Circuit are making their way to the court of appeals. Last week the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion in an FLSA case over the compensability of meal periods provided by…
Court of Appeals Holds that Notes of Counsel’s Communications with EPL Carrier are Privileged
By Russell Cawyer on
Posted in Case Summaries
In an important case for any employer that has Employment Practices Liability (EPL) coverage (and lawyers that represent clients with EPL insurance), the Dallas Court of Appeals recently held that the communications between an employer’s in-house counsel and its EPL insurance adjuster were privileged communications and exempted from discovery. In In re Texas Health Resources…
Texas Statutory Damages Caps Need Not Be Pled As Affirmative Defense
By Russell Cawyer on
In a non-employment case that is nonetheless important for labor and employment lawyers, the Texas Supreme Court has held that statutory damage caps under the Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code need not be plead as an affirmative defense by the defendant. While the case applies to the damage caps of Chapter 41 of the…
Fifth Circuit Orders Award of Attorney’s Fees to Texas Employer Against DOL in Overtime Case
By Russell Cawyer on
Posted in Case Summaries, Wage & Hour
It’s a rare day with the U.S. Department of Labor is assessed attorney’s fees against it for bringing a suit against an employer in bad faith. However, in Gate Guard v. Secretary of Labor, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered that a trial court award attorney’s fees to a Texas employer in a…
Texas Supreme Court Reverses Million Dollar Verdict in Retaliation Case
By Russell Cawyer on
Posted in Case Summaries, Retaliation
Last week the Texas Supreme Court reversed a $1 million jury verdict in a retaliation case arising under state law. In San Antonio Water Systems v. Nichols, the court held that the former employee’s confrontation of a male executive about his repeated lunch invitations to other female coworkers occurring three years before the plaintiff’s…
Fifth Circuit Resolves Intra-Circuit Split on Important ADA Issue
By Russell Cawyer on
Last month the Fifth Circuit resolved an intra-Circuit split on the appropriate prima face case that should be used in a discrimination case under the Americans with Disabilities Act. In EEOC v. LHC Group, Inc., the EEOC brought suit on behalf of a home health field nurse who was terminated after she was rendered unable…