Texas Intervenes In Lawsuit To Strike Down The City Of San Antonio’s Unlawful Paid Sick Leave Ordinance
AG Paxton Intervenes in Lawsuit to Strike Down the City of San Antonio’s Unlawful Paid Sick Leave Ordinance
AUSTIN – Attorney General Paxton intervened in a lawsuit filed by a dozen business organizations against the city of San Antonio to strike down the city’s unlawful sick leave ordinance. The ordinance is scheduled to take effect August 1.
In court papers filed with the Texas state district court in Bexar County, Attorney General Paxton explained that the minimum amount of compensation established for workers – including the minimum amount of paid time off – is a decision entrusted by the Texas Constitution solely to the state Legislature.
When the Legislature enacted the Texas Minimum Wage Act, it intended to set a single, uniform policy for the entire state. Nowhere in the Act is there mention of requiring employers to provide paid time off from work.
In a letter to San Antonio’s city leaders last year, Attorney General Paxton cautioned them against circumventing Texas law. But the City Council passed the sick leave ordinance by a 9-2 vote.
“San Antonio, Austin, Dallas and other cities cannot be allowed to pass their own laws simply because they dislike state law or disagree with the judgment of the state’s elected representatives,” Attorney General Paxton said. “The Legislature established the minimum amount of compensation for workers, and the Texas Constitution prohibits local municipalities from ignoring the Legislature’s decision.”
Last year, Attorney General Paxton intervened in a lawsuit against the city of Austin’s unlawful sick leave ordinance. Last November, the Court of Appeals for the 3rd District of Texas blocked the ordinance, concluding that it violates the Texas Constitution and Texas law. Attorney General Paxton and the city of Austin both asked the Texas Supreme Court to take up the case.
Twelve business organization are suing the city of San Antonio to stop its sick leave rule from taking effect: Associated Builders & Contractors of South Texas Inc.; American Staffing Association; BBM-Online LLC; Burnett Companies Consolidated Inc.; Cardinal Senior Care LLC; Choice Staffing LLC; Employers Solutions Inc.; Hawkins Associates Inc.; LeadingEdge Personnel Ltd; Staff Force Inc.; San Antonio Manufacturers Association; and the San Antonio Restaurant Association.
View a copy of the intervention here.
AG Paxton Leads 16-State Coalition Brief Asking 7th Circuit to Allow Indiana to Protect the Health and Safety of Women
AUSTIN – Leading a coalition of 16 states, Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit explaining why Indiana’s reasonable licensing requirements for abortion clinics are constitutional.
Indiana is appealing a U.S. District Court decision ordering the State to allow Whole Woman’s Health, which also operates clinics in Texas and other states, to open an unlicensed abortion clinic in South Bend.
Indiana, along with Texas and more than 20 other states, requires abortion clinics to be licensed like other surgical centers and medical clinics, which ensures continuous compliance with health and safety requirements.
State licensing requirements are also common for nursing homes, eating disorder centers, mammography facilities, birthing centers, tattoo parlors, and tanning salons.
“If the states are prohibited from inspecting and regulating abortion clinics, women will suffer,” Attorney General Paxton said. “U.S. Supreme Court precedents make clear that the states can require abortion facilities to obtain a license without running afoul of the Constitution, and our coalition is hopeful the 7th Circuit will toss out the lower court’s misguided ruling in the Indiana case.”
As the brief recounts, numerous discoveries of dangerous abortion clinics over the years have prompted state oversight of these facilities to protect patients.
One of the most horrifying cases involved Philadelphia-based Dr. Kermit Gosnell, who was convicted of murder for killing babies born alive after attempted abortions. The conditions in his clinic were shockingly unsanitary and unsafe. It turned out that the state had not inspected his clinic for 15 years.
In their brief, Attorney General Paxton and his counterparts told the 7th Circuit: “Whole Woman’s Health’s track record in Texas and other states demonstrates the reasonable need for Indiana to require WWH’s facility in South Bend to meet licensing requirements and be subjected to regulation, inspection, and oversight.”
Texas is joined in the friend-of-the-court brief by Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia.
View a copy of the brief here.
AG Paxton Announces Historic $600 Million Data Breach Settlement with Equifax
AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that a coalition of 50 attorneys general reached the largest data breach settlement in history with Equifax, resolving an investigation into a massive data breach first disclosed by the company in September 2017. The breach exposed the personal information of nearly half the U.S. population, including 12.1 million Texans.
The $600 million settlement with the attorneys general of 48 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico requires Equifax to implement and maintain a rigorous and comprehensive data security program designed to prevent future breaches.
Under the agreement, Equifax must also pay between $300 million and $425 million into a consumer restitution settlement fund for the benefit of consumers whose information was exposed in the breach. Equifax will pay $175 million to the 50 attorneys general. Texas will collect $10.9 million for penalties, fees and costs.
“As a data broker which collects and maintains the sensitive personal information of millions, Equifax is obligated by law to protect that information from hackers. This investigation exposed Equifax’ failure to comply with that obligation.” said Attorney General Paxton. “Today’s settlement puts them on the path to correction and is a win for Texas consumers. My office will continue to investigate companies that fail to protect Texans’ personal information and do everything it can to protect Texans from identity theft.”
The investigation of Equifax concluded that the company failed to maintain reasonable safeguards to protect consumers’ sensitive personal information from unlawful disclosure.
Despite knowing about a critical vulnerability in its software, Equifax failed to fully and timely patch its systems. Moreover, Equifax failed to replace software that monitored the breached network for suspicious activity. As a result, the attackers penetrated Equifax’s system and went unnoticed for 76 days.
More information about the settlement, including details of the consumer restitution fund and how to file claims, can be found here: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/consumer-protection/equifax.
To receive email updates about the consumer restitution fund and when the settlement administrator will begin accepting claims, sign up at www.ftc.gov/equifax.
In November 2017, Attorney General Paxton’s Consumer Protection Division served an investigative subpoena – also known as a Civil Investigative Demand – on Equifax, one of the nation’s three major credit reporting agencies.
View a copy of the Texas final judgment here.
AG Paxton Applauds Court Decision Upholding Flexibility and Affordability in Health Insurance Coverage
AUSTIN – A district court in Washington, D.C. on Friday delivered the Trump Administration a major victory in its attempt to allow consumers to improve access to affordable healthcare coverage through short-term plans.
Rules issued by the Departments of Health and Human Services, Treasury, and Labor that went into effect in October 2018 allow consumers to obtain health insurance through a short-term insurance plan for up to three years.
Judge Richard Leon wrote that the “potential negative impact” from the expansion of short-term plans is “minimal, but its positive benefits are undeniable.” Attorney General Paxton defended short-term insurance and consumer flexibility in a similar case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
“Obamacare established an individual insurance market that is simply too expensive for many Americans,” Attorney General Paxton said. “Allowing for short-term insurance gives consumers the freedom to choose health insurance that meets their needs at an affordable cost. Prohibiting consumers from purchasing this type of coverage forces Americans to risk incurring devastating healthcare costs and does nothing to increase access to healthcare. The decision is a major win for consumers and the rule of law alike.”
Attorney General Paxton’s brief can be viewed here.
Request for Opinion
Original Request RQ-0297-KP: Construction of Transportation Code section 502.010, concerning a county assessor-collector’s authority to refuse to register motor vehicles based on certain “scofflaw” information.
Received: Tuesday, July 23, 2019
Requestor: The Honorable Jo Anne Bernal
El Paso County Attorney
500 East San Antonio, Room 503
El Paso, Texas 79901
Request for Opinion
Original Request for Opinion RQ-0296-KP: Whether a municipality may use tax revenue for a visitor information center owned and operated by a Chamber of Commerce.
Received: Friday, July 19, 2019
Requestor: The Honorable Laurie K. English
District Attorney
112th Judicial District
Post Office Box 1187
Ozona, Texas 76943
Request for Opinion
Request for Opinion RQ-0295-KP: Distribution of county transportation grant funds appropriated under Senate Bill 500
Received: Tuesday, July 18, 2019
Requestor: The Honorable Garnet Coleman
Chair, Committee on County Affairs
Texas House of Representatives
Post Office Box 2910
Austin, Texas 78768-2910
