The Dallas Court of Appeals has held that the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act (TCHRA) and its prohibition against unlawful employment practices because of sex, encompasses claims for unlawful employment practices because of sexual orientation.  This interpretation is the first for an appellate court in Texas and the court’s analysis follows the United States

Each calendar year, the Supreme Court of Texas agrees to hear and decide somewhere around 80 petitions for review.   This is only a fraction of the petitions for review that come knocking on the court’s door.   When the court grants a petition for review the odds are very strong that the court is going to reverse the court of appeals judgment.  Overall reversal rates range between 75% to 85% for the years 2014 through 2017, with the average reversal rate for all four years being 82.2%.
Continue Reading The Texas Supreme Court’s Docket, Part 2

The Texas Whistleblower Act protects a public employee who makes a good faith report of a legal violation by his or her employer “to an appropriate law enforcement authority.” Tex. Gov’t Code  § 554.002(a).   Texas law has generally held that the “appropriate law enforcement authority” must be an authority that has outward-looking powers to investigate,