🗞️ Texas Medical Spa Broke Federal Labor Law by Punishing Worker for Talking Pay, Judge Rules
An NLRB judge found Injexed Medbar LLC illegally warned and fired esthetician Savannah Smith for discussing wages with a coworker, ordering reinstatement and back pay after finding the owners' testimony repeatedly contradicted their own prior statements.
A National Labor Relations Board administrative law judge has ruled that Injexed Medbar LLC, a medical spa with locations in Frisco and Plano, Texas, violated federal labor law when it disciplined and then fired an employee for talking about her pay with a colleague. In a decision issued July 23, 2026, Judge Christal J. Key found that the spa's owners, David and LaDelle Maez, unlawfully adopted a workplace rule barring wage discussions, issued laser technician Savannah Smith two verbal warnings tied to that rule, and terminated her four days later in retaliation for protected activity.
The case centered on a June 2023 dispute over missing sales commissions. Smith discovered discrepancies in her pay after a conversation with office manager Tali Wald, then raised the issue with the Maezes. During a recorded meeting on June 9, David Maez told Smith she could not discuss "financial stuff" with coworkers, invoking what he called company policy, and disclosed that Wald, the coworker Smith had spoken with, had just been terminated. Smith was fired on June 13.
Under the National Labor Relations Act, employees generally have a right to discuss wages and working conditions with one another, a protection the Board has described as fundamental regardless of whether a workplace has a union. The judge found that Injexed Medbar's own written warning documents and the Maezes' sworn testimony to the Texas Workforce Commission, in which David Maez confirmed wage discussions were against company policy and factored into Smith's discharge, undercut the owners' later claims at the NLRB hearing that no such policy existed. The judge also rejected the company's argument that Wald held supervisory authority, finding insufficient evidence that her office manager title came with real power to hire, discipline, or direct other staff.
As a remedy, the judge ordered Injexed Medbar to rescind its wage discussion policy, offer Smith reinstatement, pay her lost wages and related expenses with interest, purge her file of the unlawful discipline, and post an employee rights notice at its facility. The ruling becomes a final Board order automatically if neither party files exceptions within the time allowed under NLRB rules.
Key Points
- Judge Christal J. Key found Injexed Medbar LLC violated Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act three times: by adopting a no wage discussion rule, by disciplining Savannah Smith for discussing pay, and by firing her in retaliation.
- The dispute traced back to a June 2023 conversation between Smith and office manager Tali Wald about missing sales commissions, which the judge held was legally protected activity even though the spa's employees were not represented by a union.
- Owners David and LaDelle Maez gave conflicting accounts at different proceedings, telling a Texas Workforce Commission hearing officer that a no pay discussion policy existed and contributed to Smith's firing, then denying any such policy at the NLRB hearing.
- The judge found Tali Wald was not a legal supervisor despite her office manager title, rejecting the company's defense that Smith's conversation with Wald fell outside protected activity.
- The remedy requires reinstatement, back pay with compounded interest, removal of disciplinary records, and a 60-day posted notice informing employees of their right to discuss wages.
Primary Source Author: Christal J. Key, Administrative Law Judge, National Labor Relations Board
Primary Source: Injexed Medbar LLC and Savannah Smith, Case 16-CA-327568, Decision JD-47-26 (July 23, 2026)
Primary Source Link: https://www.nlrb.gov/case/16-CA-327568
