The Texas Supreme Court, in City of Denton v. Rushing, found that the disclaimer language in the City of Denton's personnel manual was sufficient to keep the manual from creating a contract. At issue was the City's policy regarding on-call pay. The personnel manual was amended in 2013 to provide for on-call pay, but the City refused to pay it. When the employee sued, the City defended that it had not waived immunity. The lower courts found a contract, but the Texas Supreme Court, in a unanimous opinion authored by Justice Devine, found that the disclaimer language "The contents of this manual do not in any way constitute the terms of a contract of employment" sufficiently demonstrated the City's intent to not create a contract. The opinion can be found at http://www.txcourts.gov/media/1443742/170336.pdf.
- Ron Stutes