http://www.elinfonet.com/starticles/44 Articles discussing workplace law in Texas. Sat, 05 Jul 2008 01:07:30 EST en-us http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=1905 Article: 1905 Thu, 19 Jul 2007 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) In another favorable opinion for employers seeking to enforce non-compete agreements against former employees, the Texas Supreme Court has held that case law barring Texas courts from invoking another state's law to interpret a Texas employee's non-compete agreement does not invalidate a clause saying that any lawsuits involving the agreement will be brought in a specified court of another state. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=1845 Article: 1845 Mon, 30 Apr 2007 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) Enforcement of State Data Security Statutes Emerging As New Benefits Concern for Employers. Across the country, states including Texas have been passing data privacy and security laws to protect personal information. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=1733 Article: 1733 Thu, 30 Nov 2006 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) In a decision sure to change the landscape in Texas for enforcement of covenants not to compete, the Texas Supreme Court recently issued its most significant opinion in over ten years. Employers have good reason to celebrate the court’s ruling since much of the confusion that has made covenants not to compete so difficult to enforce in Texas has been eliminated. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=1708 Article: 1708 Fri, 27 Oct 2006 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) Since 1994, employers in Texas have been hamstrung by a decision of the state’s highest court which severely limited the enforceability of covenants not to compete in employment at-will relationships. Light v. Centel Cellular Co., 883 S.W.2d 642 ( Tex. 1994). In the twelve years since then, employers have attempted to find creative ways to circumvent the near absolute prohibition against having an enforceable non-compete agreement with an at-will employee. Following the precedent set by the Texas Supreme Court, many state courts subsequently rejected these attempts, finding that the resulting agreements were “illusory.” http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=1707 Article: 1707 Wed, 25 Oct 2006 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) All employers have good reason to welcome the Texas Supreme Court's most recent ruling on noncompete contracts. Much of the confusion that made noncompete contract enforcement in Texas difficult to predict has been eliminated. In Alex Sheshunoff Management Services, L.P. v. Johnson, the Texas Supreme Court shifts the focus for noncompete contract analysis away from technical timing and contract formation issues that dominated recent decisions, and back to whether the contract is reasonable and necessary for the protection of a legitimate business interest. Lower courts were split on whether the Texas Covenant Not to Compete Act (the "Act") required a specific formation process with unique timing requirements. It is now clear that the contract formation process will be less important than the content of the contract and circumstances surrounding performance of it. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=1706 Article: 1706 Wed, 25 Oct 2006 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) Changing its prior position on the issue, the Texas Supreme Court has held that an employer’s promise to perform (for example, to provide training or confidential information) is sufficient to create an enforceable covenant not to compete in an at-will employment relationship; however, the non-compete covenant is not enforceable until the employer takes the action it has promised. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=1705 Article: 1705 Tue, 24 Oct 2006 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) Texas Supreme Court Enforces Covenant Not to Compete. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=1671 Article: 1671 Tue, 12 Sep 2006 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) Decisions turn on degree of control over employee. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=1574 Article: 1574 Wed, 17 May 2006 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) For years, Texas employers have been frustrated with court decisions invalidating their non-compete agreements. A spate of cases from courts of appeals across Texas has made it nearly impossible to have enforceable non-compete agreements with at-will employees, based on the reasoning that employer promises made within the at-will relationship are "illusory" since the employee could be discharged right after signing the agreement. http://www.elinfonet.com/newscount.php?stateID=1573 Article: 1573 Thu, 11 May 2006 00:00:00 EST elin@elinfonet.com (Employment Law Information Network) The Texas Supreme Court recently issued two employer-friendly rulings. In a breach of contract case, the state’s highest court ruled that an employee policy manual did not modify the parties’ at-will employment relationship. In a second case, the court held that an employee who sued her employer for retaliatory discharge must submit her claims to arbitration. Matagorda County Hospital District v. Burwell, No. 03-0111, Supreme Court of Texas (February 24, 2006).