Fossil Group, Inc. v. Nicole Harris

Supreme Court of Texas
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No. 23-0376
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Fossil Group, Inc.,
Petitioner,

v.

Nicole Harris,
Respondent

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On Petition for Review from the
Court of Appeals for the Fifth District of Texas
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JUSTICE BLACKLOCK, concurring.

The Court’s opinion leans heavily on federal Title VII
sexual-harassment cases to decide a case brought under Chapter 21 of
the Texas Labor Code. I must observe, once again, that:
Texas judges interpreting Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor
Code have an independent obligation to construe Texas law
that does not yield to statements made by federal
authorities about federal anti-discrimination statutes.
...
When Texas courts look to federal sources of law for
assistance in understanding Chapter 21, we should take
care not to give the impression that we are elevating
federal law to the level of controlling authority that must
be carefully parsed and assiduously followed. Federal
sources of law have no formal role to play, in this case or in
future cases, as this Court seeks to understand whether
the various legal obligations that might be imagined to
arise from Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code have truly
achieved the consent of the governed in Texas.
Tex. Tech Univ. Health Scis. Ctr. – El Paso v. Niehay, 671 S.W.3d 929,
945–46 (Tex. 2023) (Blacklock, J., concurring) (internal quotations
omitted).
I do not object to the Court’s reiteration of propositions about
sexual-harassment liability under Chapter 21 that we have previously
stated. See, e.g., Waffle House, Inc. v. Williams, 313 S.W.3d 796, 804 &
n.25 (Tex. 2010); Alamo Heights Indep. Sch. Dist. v. Clark, 544 S.W.3d
755, 771 (Tex. 2018). But we need not say anything new about the Texas
Labor Code in order to correctly resolve this case. This is particularly
true when, as Justice Young points out, an alternative ground for
reversal exists. Post at 4–5 (Young, J., concurring). To the extent the
Court’s opinion can be read to adopt into Texas law, for the first time,
any propositions from federal case law about Title VII liability, I do not
join those parts of the opinion.
With this reservation noted, I respectfully concur.

James D. Blacklock
Justice

OPINION FILED: June 14, 2024

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