Does anybody have an agreement that defines the relationship between your county and this agency? We can't find one and we're not sure who represents them. PLEASE HELP.

I know that the Commissioners hire them and fund the office, but - my understanding / recollection from last time is that they hire off a list provided by the state. I know, from working with our home ec agent, that her programs are from A & M (no comment...), and that there is a hierarchy of individuals she answers to.

We don't have a written agreement with them. In my very humble opinion, they are creatures of the state. We have the option of taking one, in that we set salary, office space and the like, and we are given a choice of which ones we hire, but are restrained to hiring off the list provided by the state.

May not help, but that is my understanding...

Ray agrees. We have 22 of these folks, total. Most (the administrative people) are paid solely by the County. Some Ag Agents are paid solely by the State, but again, most have some County contribution. I have an EEOC Charge by a secretary (purely County-paid) against a hybrid Agent. The Charging Party (secretary) has already gone all the way through our Harris Co. Grievance Procedure (maybe she shouldn't have?) and I have met with the Director (Head Extension Agent) several times on the matter. AAAGH!!!!

The extension service is administered by and is part of the Texas A & M University System.

Travis County signed an interlocal with them for extension services in approximately 1999.

We still have an electronic copy of the agreement on our system which I have already sent to Eileen. If anyone else wants it, just let me know.

The description of the extension service in the agreement was:

The Texas Agricultural Extension Service, a component of The Texas A & M University System, a legal entity created under the Smith Lever Act and the TEX. AGRIC. CODE ANN., ch. 43,

The person who signed the agreement was Chester Fallis, Deputy Director.

The attorney who represented the extension service and A&M was:
Cherry Kay Wolf
John B. Conolly Building
301 Tarrow, 6th Floor
College Station, Texas 77840-7896

Let me know if you would like more information.

We have been in a spat with the Texas Workforce Commission over who "employs" various officials appointed by the STATE District Judges. These appointed officials include the County Auditor and various Associate Judges and Magistrates. Our position is that they are appointed, trained, supervised and (at times) terminated by the STATE District judges, who also set their salaries. The County merely pays the salary that the Judges set. We have already successfully sued TWC over their determination that the County Auditor is a County employee. We are now headed down that path over a County Magistrate (Associate Judge.) We have found some traction in arguments based on the 20 Factors Indicating Common Law Employment and in Section 201.063 of the Texas Labor Code (which sets out certain exemptions to the Labor Code's definition of "employment.") These arguments may also apply to the County Extension Agents.

That's cool so long as you stick to suing TWC. The trouble starts if any of the referenced "employers" get impleaded. The hardest lesson I have yet learned in my travails in representing the county:

Q. Who is the absolute worst defendant you can name/person you can throw under a bus in a lawsuit?

A. One who wears a black robe.

Interestingly, in both of the cases where I have made this argument, the former appointed official has actually agreed with me. I think it has something to do with not wanting to scknowledge that the Commissioners Court had any authority over them. They ended up being my best witnesses.

"If you throw someone under the bus, make sure it's already moving."