In the last year, Texas courts have pursued an expansive view of the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA), a law that, generally speaking, is designed to protect the free expression rights of ordinary citizens. Recent court decisions surrounding this law have broad implications for employment law and are likely to lead to the use of the TCPA in employment defamation, trade secrets, noncompetition agreements, and even discrimination and retaliation cases.
Adopted in 2011, the TCPA is Texas’ version of an anti-SLAPP law. Also found in many other states, these laws bar the use of “strategic lawsuits against public participation”—lawsuits designed to retaliate or deter free speech by using litigation as a weapon.
