Dallas Austin

Feeling a little dazed and confused about the latest stimulus plans?  You are not alone.  As court challenges about the constitutionality of the President’s latest executive orders are threatened and Congress continues to try to reach a deal on the next stimulus package, you might find yourself asking, rather than exclaiming, “alright, alright, alright?” So, where exactly are we?  On Saturday, the President issued four executive orders intended to bypass the Congressional deadlock over the next stimulus bill.  The two competing bills in Congress, the House’s HEROS act and the Senat

On Monday, July 27, 2020, United States Senator John Cornyn of Texas introduced the Safe to Work Act, a companion to the concurrently introduced $1 trillion COVID-19 stimulus bill.  The Safe to Work Act would create uniform standards across all states for plaintiffs to sue businesses for damages related to alleged or actual coronavirus injuries.  While the Act is certain to be revised as it winds through the House of Representatives, several states, including Oklahoma, have already passed laws limiting businesses liability for coronavirus claims.  The Texas Legislature, not scheduled to res

Immunity comes in many flavors.  Immunity from liability or suit is one kind, immunity from viral infections an altogether different variety.  The resumption of in-person classes for K-12 school children without an effective and widely distributed vaccine and without widespread community immunity to the virus has stoked concerns among parents, children, and educators alike.  In Florida, the teachers have taken to court to prevent a state-wide order from taking effect that would require resumption of in-person instruction. In July 2020, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and his administration or

As we tip-toe toward the resumption of the school in Texas in mid-August, parents and employers are facing a myriad of questions and a dearth of certainty.  Will students be attending classes in-person or remotely or some combination of each?  Will the school semester be interrupted if the pandemic continues to flare and the Governor issues a shelter-at-home order?  What happens to employees with school-age children when or if schools suddenly close? Of equal importance, what does this mean for employers? To try to answer some of these questions, we will first address the recent guidelines

Who gets to decide whether Dallas or Austin or any other part of Texas opens or closes for business?  As little consistency as there is from county-to-county about what is required from employers in the COVID-19 era, there is seemingly less consistency on whether the Governor or cities and counties have the authority to impose new requirements.   The consequences of who has the authority get more serious when discussing whether a specific city or county may require persons to shelter-at-home or whether that authority belongs entirely to the Governor.  Certainly, the Governor’s actions ea