There are certain standard items that every employment agreement should contain and for that matter any contract. Two of those include a choice of law and forum selection clause. A forum selection clause specifies where a party can sue to enforce the agreement. The agreement can specify once certain venue (preferable) or multiple venues depending upon the nature of the agreement.
The United States Supreme Court in the Bremen case recognized the right of contracting parties to contract for venue. It is difficult to set aside a forum selection clause under Bremen. A party challenging a forum selection clause generally has to show that its enforcement would be unfair or unresonable.
Texas generally recognizes the rights to include form selection clauses and follows Bremen. See In re AIU Ins. Co., 148 S.W.3d, 109 (Tex. 2004). In large states like Texas, many employers will have employees in different parts of the states that are several hundred miles away and those jurisdictions may vary different in terms of judges and jury pools. There are certain jurisdictions in Texas that are friendlier to employees than employers and vice-versa.
The employer can eliminate any guesswork with respect to that by specifying the forum provision. Do not leave it out of employment agreements.
