Texas’ 13th District Court of Appeals has ordered an employment discrimination lawsuit to arbitration. In Ophthalmic Consultants of Texas, P.A. v. Morales, No. 13-15-00278-CV (Tex. App – Corpus Christi, October 15, 2015), an ophthalmology business, Ophthalmic Consultants of Texas, P.A. (“OCT”), apparently hired a physician, Dr. Adolfo Morales, in 2009. As part of his employment contract, Dr. Morales signed a three-page arbitration agreement. In the agreement, the doctor consented to submit all employment-related and other legal claims against OCT to binding arbitration before the American Arbitration Association in the city where he was employed. The terms of the agreement stated:

Both I and the Company understand that, by agreeing to arbitration, we are agreeing to substitute one legitimate dispute resolution forum (arbitration) for another (litigation), and thereby are waiving the right to have disputes resolved in court. This substitution involves no surrender, by me or the Company, of any statutory or common law benefit, protection, or defense.

After OCT refused to renew Dr. Morales’ contract, he filed a discrimination complaint with the Texas Workforce Commission. According to the doctor, he was terminated due to age discrimination. When his administrative remedies were exhausted, Dr. Morales filed a discrimination lawsuit against his former employer. The business responded to the case by filing a motion to compel the dispute to arbitration. The district court denied the employer’s motion and OCT filed an interlocutory appeal with Texas’ 13th District Court of Appeals in Corpus Christi.

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