​Administrative Hearing Officers—“Employee” Status—Texas Workforce Commission

Administrative Hearing Officers—“Employee” Status—Texas Workforce Commission v. Harris County Appraisal District, 519 S.W.3d 113 (Tex. 2017)—Members of the Harris County Appraisal Review Board are “employees” under Tex. Lab. Code 207.004, and board members terminated by the Appraisal District are entitled to unemployment compensation. The court rejected the District’s argument that board members are so free of control as to be analogous to independent contractors excluded from coverage under Tex. Labor Code § 201.041. The court also rejected the District’s argument that board members are part of the judiciary under Tex. Lab. Code. § 201.063. Members are participants in an administrative review process, not in the judicial branch.