Cases & Developments

Opinion reversing dismissal and remanding. Plaintiff, a former nontenured English instructor at Texas Southern University (TSU) who had symptoms of osteoarthritis in her knee and was planning FMLA leave for knee surgery, brought a state law disability discrimination claim against TSU after it terminated her employment contract for failure to attend a mandatory meeting with her Department Chair and Dean concerning her professionalism. The trial court granted TSU’s plea to the jurisdiction. In reversing and remanding, the Court of Appeals of Texas found that she sufficiently alleged that her knee condition was a disability; that the Chair was likely aware of her need for a medical accommodation from her use of a cane, use of a “knee sleeve,” and references to doctors’ appointments; and that the Chair declined her requests to change the time of the mandatory meeting with her Chair and Dean. 

U.S. Department of Education Uniform Regulatory Agenda for Spring 2023. The filing indicates that the Department of Education plans to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in August 2023 to amend its regulations implementing Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.