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Must an employer pay commissions to an at-will employee earned after the employee’s date of termination?  The Texas Supreme Court recently weighed in on this issue, reminding employers that written expectations and terms of employees, their positions, their salaries and/or earnings is crucial. In Perthuis v Baylor Miraca Genetics Laboratories, the Court concluded the state’s “procuring-cause doctrine” applies to commission (or sales) payments for an employee no longer employed with employer at the time the commission is collected. In 1916, the procuring-cause doctrine was established

Recently, the Virginia governor signed into law “SB550,” which explicitly makes “pay-if-paid” clauses unenforceable by statute, joining six other states with similar laws. Texas also has a statute governing pay-if-paid or contingent payment clauses, though does not outrightly void them.  What are contingent payment clauses and what are the statutory restrictions in Texas on their enforceability?  This article provides a primer. What are contingent payment clauses? Contingent payment clauses are just that, clauses that provide that when X happens, Y occurs (i.e., X is a condition prec

Characterizing someone as an independent contractor or an employee can have significant monetary consequences.  Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), employees are entitled to benefits including overtime pay and minimum wage. Independent contractors, however, are not. As a result, the distinction between an employee and an independent contractor can be an important determination for a business to make. Traditionally, courts have applied a multi-factor test, known as the economic realities test, to “determine whether, as a matter of economic reality, an individual is in business for him

The Miller Act, 40 U.S.C. §§ 3131-3134, governs performance and payment bond acquisition and claims on federal projects (that is, projects being constructed on US Government property, or for the US Government or any agency of the US Government). Unlike the many tricky provisions hidden in the Texas Mechanics’ Lien statute, the Miller Act is relatively simple to maneuver, but not without pitfalls for the unwary.  Under the Miller Act, contractors on federal projects must post two bonds: A performance bond and a labor and material payment bond. A corporate surety company issuing these bonds

Generally, in Texas the right to be awarded attorney’s fees is limited to whether a contract or statute provides for the recovery of such fees.  Without a right by contract or statute each party is responsible for their own attorney’s fees and there is no right to shift those fees to the losing party.  Assuming there is a statute or contract which allows a party to recover fees, how do you determine which party has the right to recover its fees? In other words, what makes a party a “prevailing party”? On April 8, 2022 the Texas Supreme Court issued its opinion in Sunchase IV Homeown