On June 5, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision clarifying the evidentiary standard for Title VII disparate treatment claims. The Court held that plaintiffs who are members of a majority group—such as heterosexuals, men, or whites—are not
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Texas Commission on Human Rights Act Does Not Shield Employees from Common Law Tort Claims Made by their Co-workers
The case arose from a dispute involving an SMU professor who alleged she was denied tenure due to discrimination and retaliation. In addition to statutory discrimination and retaliation claims against the University, she brought common law claims for defamation and
U.S. Supreme Court Clarifies Burden of Proof for Employer to Prove Exempt Status
Texas Court Strikes DOL Rule Increasing Salary Basis Threshold
In an April 2024 final rule that abruptly took effect July 1, 2024, entitled Defining and Delimiting the Exceptions for Executive, Administrative, Professional, Outside sales, and Computer Employees, the Department of Labor amended the Fair Labor Standards Act to require
“Tragic magic” or relief from your grief?
“[W]e kind of do have a reputation around here for being sticklers for the rules,” a Dallas County district judge quipped when denying a motion for leave to file a late summary judgment response. See Verhalen v. Akhtar, — S.W.3d
What’s it to you?
“As Justice Scalia memorably said, Article III requires a plaintiff to first answer a basic question: ‘What’s it to you?’” Food & Drug Admin. v. All. For Hippocratic Med., 602 U.S. 367, 379 (2024) (quoting A. Scalia, The Doctrine of
Texas Standards for Appellate Conduct?
“Lawyers are an indispensable part of the pursuit of justice.”
The rarely cited Standards of Conduct for the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure—found in the TRAP following Section Five—begins with this statement. The Standards explain that:
The appellate lawyer’s role
EEOC Publishes Final Rule Implementing Pregnant Workers Fairness Act
On April 19, 2024, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) issued a final rule to implement the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA” or the “Rule”). The Rule was published and becomes effective on June 18, 2024.
The PWFA requires
FTC Publishes Final Rule Attempting to Outlaw Most Noncompetition Agreements with Employees
On April 23, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission voted 3-2 to approve a final rule banning all employee noncompetition agreements nationwide. The rule, currently set to go into effect 120 days after publication in the Federal Register (except for
DOL Publishes Final Rule Raising Salary Basis Threshold for Many Overtime Exemptions
On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor published a final rule raising the minimum weekly salary many exempt employees must be paid to qualify as exempt from overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The new rule raises