Case: Texas Tech University System V. Martinez, 691 S.W.3d 415 (Tex. 2024)
If you have questions about the following case or need help from a New Mexico workplace retaliation lawyer, Davie & Valdez P.C. is here to help.
The Short Story
A Texas Tech Health Sciences Center employee alleged that the Texas Tech University System and its Board of Regents (entities above her direct employer) were really calling the shots on employment decisions. One email from the system level discussed an aging workforce and planning for retirements. She sued those system entities as “indirect employers.”
What The Court Decided
The Texas Supreme Court said her pleadings did not show the required “actual control” over her job by the system entities. A generalized email about workforce planning wasn’t enough to show control over the plaintiff’s employment. The case was sent back to allow her to replead with more specific facts showing actual control.
What This Means For Texas Employees
If decisions about your job are really being made by a parent company or higher-level entity, you can potentially sue that entity—but you’ll need concrete facts showing it actually controlled your employment (not just offered advice). Save emails, org charts, and instructions that show who truly dictated decisions.
If you have questions about employment discrimination, work injury or workers compensation, wrongful termination, harassment, hostile work environment, EEOC claims, defamation, libel, slander, wage, retaliation, independent contractor issues, or overtime pay, reach out to Davie & Valdez P.C. today for a free consultation.