Is Employment Contract Limitations on Employee's Benefits Legal In Texas ?

In Hazelwood v. Mandrell Indus., 596 S.W.2d 204 (Tex. Civ. App.-Houston [1st Dist. ] writ ref'd n.r.e.) the court held that an employment agreement that limited the employee's benefits to those measured by the Texas Workers' Compensation Act (TWCA), but allowed the non-subscribing employer to retain its common law defenses violated public policy. See 596 S.W.2d at 205-6. Thus, because the employer retained the right to assert common law defenses to any claim for benefits under the employment agreement, there was no quid pro quo for the employee's waiver under that agreement.