Texas Employment Law for Martial Arts Schools: Non-Competes, Pay and Hiring Rules
Researched October 21, 2026. General information, not legal advice. Part of the Martial Arts Employment Law Center. Points we could not confirm from a primary source are marked. Confirm with an employment lawyer admitted in Texas before you sign, change or enforce a staff agreement.
Texas courts will enforce an employee non-compete only if it protects a legitimate business interest and is reasonable in time, territory and scope.
Research confidence: medium.
Can a martial arts school in Texas make instructors sign a non-compete?
Under the Covenants Not to Compete Act (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code 15.50-.52), a non-compete is enforceable if it is part of an otherwise enforceable agreement and is reasonable in time, geography and scope of activity. In practice, the employer must give something real in return, such as confidential business information or specialized training. There is no income threshold or advance-notice rule outside the healthcare field, which has special limits, so ordinary instructors can be covered. Courts must reform an overbroad covenant rather than void it.
Can you stop a departing instructor from soliciting your students?
Texas treats customer non-solicitation clauses as covenants not to compete under section 15.50, so they need the same consideration and reasonableness. Limiting them to students the instructor actually taught helps.
Can you stop a departing instructor from recruiting your staff?
Many Texas courts also analyze employee non-solicits under section 15.50, though case law is mixed. Not confirmed — check with local counsel.
What is the minimum wage for instructors in Texas?
$7.25 per hour; the Texas Minimum Wage Act follows the federal rate. Cities may not set higher private-sector minimums (Labor Code 62.0515).
When do instructors earn overtime?
Federal FLSA only: time-and-a-half after 40 hours a week. No higher state salary threshold.
When is the final paycheck due?
Under the Texas Payday Law, a fired employee must be paid within 6 calendar days of discharge. An employee who quits must be paid by the next regular payday. Commissions and bonuses are due according to the written agreement, and unused PTO is owed only if your written policy promises it.
What background checks can you run on instructors who teach children?
Texas has no statewide ban-the-box law for private employers, and state law limits city employment ordinances, so check whether Austin’s or another city’s fair-chance rules still apply to you. Texas DPS sells public criminal history records and runs a public sex offender registry. Federal FCRA rules apply to vendors, and Texas law limits consumer-report reporting of old records for lower-paid jobs. No salary-history ban. Not confirmed — check with local counsel.
Are martial arts instructors mandated reporters of child abuse?
Yes. Texas requires every person to report suspected child abuse or neglect; professionals must report within 48 hours. Report to the Texas Abuse Hotline run by the Department of Family and Protective Services, or to law enforcement. Statute details (Family Code 261.101) were not re-verified this cycle.
What can a dress code or grooming policy require?
The Texas CROWN Act (2023) bars employers with 15 or more employees from discriminating based on hair texture or protective styles such as braids, locs and twists. Religious dress is protected under state and federal law. Gender identity is protected through federal Title VII after Bostock; the state statute is not expressly broader.
How far can a morals or conduct clause reach into off-duty life?
No general lawful off-duty conduct law, and no recreational cannabis protection. Texas election law bars employers from coercing employees’ votes. Not confirmed — check with local counsel.
Do you have to disclose pay or allow staff to discuss it?
No pay-range posting law and no state salary-history ban.
What privacy rules apply to student and parent records?
The Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (effective July 1, 2024) exempts businesses that are small under federal SBA standards, which likely includes most martial arts schools. Even small businesses, however, need consent before selling ‘sensitive’ data such as children’s data. Federal COPPA applies to online collection from children under 13. Not confirmed — check with local counsel.
Other Texas rules that catch school owners
No state paid sick leave; state law preempts city sick-leave ordinances. No meal or rest break mandate for adults. Texas lets 14- and 15-year-olds work up to 8 hours a day and 48 hours a week, but the stricter federal limits (3 hours on a school day, 18 hours in a school week) usually control.
What to watch in Texas
2025 legislation added limits on non-competes for physicians and other healthcare workers (effective September 1, 2025), which does not affect instructors (bill details not re-verified). Watch for any expansion beyond healthcare.
The bottom line for Texas schools
If you use a non-compete at all, reserve it for senior roles with a real legitimate interest, and keep time, territory and activity narrow. Where Texas law allows it, a narrow student non-solicitation clause limited to students the employee actually taught, a confidentiality agreement, and real control of the student database protect a school far better.
Sources
- HiveDesk: Texas labor laws
- Texas Workforce Commission: Texas Payday Law
- Texas Workforce Commission: Texas Minimum Wage Law
- Texas Workforce Commission: Texas Child Labor Law
Also for Texas: Martial arts laws in Texas · Texas membership contracts
What every martial arts school staff package should contain
- Offer or employment agreement: the legal employer, the role and duties, workplace, pay, employment status and termination terms, reviewed against local rules. U.S. at-will language does not belong in a Canadian contract.
- Compensation schedule: hourly or salary terms, commissions and bonuses, and exactly when each is earned and paid. Record all working time, not only time on the mat. See instructor pay structures and overtime.
- Appearance and conduct policies: functional uniform, hygiene and safety standards with a written accommodation process. See the dress code and grooming guide.
- Child-protection policy: boundaries, private communications, transport, supervision and reporting. See the conduct clause guide and background checks for instructors.
- Confidentiality and data-security agreement: student records, CRM access, permitted use, return and deletion, and protected-disclosure exceptions (in the U.S., the federal DTSA whistleblower-immunity notice). See student data and trade secrets.
- Restrictive-covenant addendum: only what local law permits, usually a narrow student or staff non-solicitation clause; a non-compete only in exceptional cases. See non-compete laws by state and non-solicitation agreements.
Planning for a departure? Read When an instructor leaves: protecting students and records. Every state and province is indexed in the Martial Arts Employment Law Center.
Before you act on this
This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Employment, wage, human-rights, privacy and restrictive-covenant laws change, and their application depends on the exact wording of an agreement, the employee’s duties and pay, where the work is done and when the agreement was signed. Confirm the current statute, regulations and agency guidance, and take advice from a lawyer admitted in the relevant state or province, before drafting, changing or enforcing an employment agreement. Corrections: see our editorial policy.
