In a per curiam opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court held that under the Federal Arbitration Act arbitrators, not courts,must determine the enforceability of covenants not to compete when the parties are subject to agreements that call for the mandatory arbitration of disputes.
In Nitro-Lift Technologies v. Howard, two employees left their employment with Nitro-Lift and began
Now that the election is over and most of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) is likely to take effect, some employer will want to revisit the new obligations and requirements of the Act. On November 30, 2012, our firm is presenting a complimentary webinar titled "Health Care Reform: What Lays Ahead with the Affordable Care Act?
Last term the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed the existence of the ministerial exception to many of the federal employment discrimination laws. This week, the Fifth Circuit took up the application of the ministerial exception for the first time since the Supreme Court’s opinion in Hosanna-Tabor and applied the exception broadly.
Philip Cannata was the Music
My colleague, Alison Rowe, is what I affectionately call a horse lawyer. Actually, Alison practices Equine Law (which broadly includes a diverse area of transactional and litigation issues involving farm, ranch, agricultural and real and personal property issues) and is recognized as a "go to" authority on this subject area in Texas. She also happens to publish
I wrote back in April 2010 that I thought the Houston Court of Appeals decision in Prarie View A&M v. Chatha applying the federal Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (“Ledbetter Act”) to claims arising under the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act (TCHRA) was wrongly decided. Last month the Supreme Court of Texas agreed
With union organization and membership at all time lows in the United States, the National Labor Relations Board is making a effort to stay relevant by pushing an agenda targeted on non-unionized workplaces. Unfortunately, the Board’s positions, some of which are completely out of touch, may push it into irrelevance.
From its difficult to synthesize interpretation employer social
Last week the U.S. Supreme Court ended its 2011-12 Term. Here are summaries of the labor and employment cases decided this term.
Hosanna-Taylor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. EEOC, (No. 10-553) (holding that teacher at religious school qualified as a "minister" within the meaning of the ministerial exception to Title VII and therefore
When is an employee’s claim for injuries against its nonsubscriber employer occurring in the course and scope of employment a health care liability claim? According to the Supreme Court of Texas, when the employer is a health care provider.
In Texas West Oaks Hosp. v. Williams, Williams was employed by a nonsubscriber psychiatric hospital. Williams was
The Texas Supreme Court held that an age discrimination plaintiff is never entitled to an inference of age discrimination at the prima facie case where the employee’s replacement is older than plaintiff-employee. In that situation, the plaintiff must establish a prima facie case through direct evidence of age discrimination.
Gloria Garcia (age 48) was terminated
Prevailing plaintiffs in employment discrimination, harassment and retaliation cases can recover attorney’s fees their attorney’s incur in prosecuting those claims. In many instances the attorney’s fees sought can exceed the monetary relief the plaintiff obtains and can act as a serious impediment to prompt settlement.
Since most of these cases are done on a contingency