In Light of Oklahoma Ruling; is Texas Non-Sub Constitutional?
This month’s Oklahoma Supreme Court decision declaring the Oklahoma opt-out system unconstitutional has some system stakeholders asking, “could that happen in Texas, too?” The high court’s 7-2 ruling came in Vasquez v. Dillards, which was appealed to the state Supreme Court after the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission came to the same conclusion about the law in its ruling on the case in February.
[A] spokesman for the Texas Department of Insurance said changes are unlikely because there are “significant differences” between the Oklahoma and Texas law.
Still, Richard Levy, secretary-treasurer of the Teas AFL-CIO, called the Oklahoma ruling “significant” for Texas and said the group is considering if a similar argument could be used to strike down the Texas opt-out provision.
“I would imagine that a lot of people in this area are looking at their Texas Constitutions right now,” Levy said. “Certainly, we expect this to be an issue in the upcoming legislative session.”
The Vasquez case is still pending before the Oklahoma Supreme Court. The 85th Texas Legislature convenes January 10, 2017.
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