Texas Supreme Court Orders Arbitration in Disability Discrimination Case

Austin, TXThe Texas Supreme Court has ordered that, according to Texas labor law, a case in which a woman alleges she was fired because of a disability must go to arbitration.

span itemprop="image" itemscope itemtype="https://schema.org/ImageObject" style="display:block">Frances Cabrera claims that she was fired from the Boot Jack in 2007 because her employer did not want to accommodate her doctor's order that she eat all meals before 6:00 pm.

She argues that an arbitration agreement she had signed in 2005 was invalid because it lacked consideration and was illusory because the employer allegedly retained the right to change the agreement at will, citing a clause in the company's employee manual.

The court disagreed on both counts. According to the text of the court's decision, "mutual agreement to arbitrate claims provides sufficient consideration to support an arbitration agreement."

Additionally, because the arbitration agreement signed by Cabrera and her employer made no direct mention either of the employee manual or the right allegedly claimed by the employer to change terms, the agreement constitutes a sound stand-alone contract and thus is not illusory.