Dallas Austin

On July 19, 2024, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) voluntarily dismissed a pending appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, effectively capitulating enforcement of its 2023 ‘joint-employer rule’. The joint employer rule is used to determine whether an employee has multiple employers. The National Labor Relations Act governs labor relations between employers and employees. It assists in determining and evaluating the employer-employee relationship and depending on the circumstances who governs the actions as an employee. This determination also allows

Earlier this May, the Fourteenth Court of Appeals, held that a federal law, the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act (“EFAA”) that went into law in March 2022, barred a requirement of a former nurse to arbitrate claims connected to her termination after reporting that a patient sexually and inappropriately touched her. In SJ Medical Center, LLC dba St. Joseph Medical Center v. Olanma Destiny Anozie, Anozie worked at St. Joseph’s Center for Behavioral Health (“St. Joseph”) as a registered nurse. In December 2022, as Anozie was walking past a mental hea

In yet another appeal of a nuclear verdict, the Texas Supreme Court recently remanded a $13.7 million verdict on the basis that the trial court may have used the wrong definition of “employee” and insufficient evidence supported piercing the veil of 3 separate corporations. In JNM Express, LLC, ANCA Transport, Inc., Omega Freight Logistics, LLC, Jorge Marin, and Silvia Marin v. Lauro Lozano Jr. and Irene Lozano, Mr. Lozano, an independent contractor truck driver, sued three related corporations alleging each was his employer. Each corporation had common ownership by Jorge and Silvia Marin,

A legal attempt to prevent enforcement of the $17.20 per hour minimum wage for federal contracts has recently failed.  How will that impact you? Arkansas Valley Adventure LLC (“AVA”) and the Colorado River Outfitters Association (“CROA”) filed suit in US Court in Colorado requesting an injunction of a 2021 Executive Order increasing minimum wage for certain categories of federal work to $15 per hour. In April 2024, the US 10th Circuit Court of Appeals denied their request, finding that the 2021 Executive Order has a nexus close enough to promoting economy and efficiency in federal pro

On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued its final version of Rules Concerning Unfair Methods of Competition (Rule).  The Rule becomes effective 120 days after being published in the Federal Register.  Almost immediately, two separate lawsuits were filed in Texas seeking to stay enforcement of the Rule and a finding that the FTC exceeded its authority in issuing the Rule.  Why all the fuss? The Rule, only 9 pages long, is preceded by 560 pages of commentary and justification by the FTC, perhaps foreboding the Rule’s significance and controversy. The Rule bars an employ