In an early jurisdictional ruling that Texas litigators will want to watch closely, the Texas Business Court has sent a former Exxon Mobil executive’s $5 million racial discrimination suit back to state district court, holding that the court’s enabling statute does not reach employment disputes. The decision marks one of the clearer signals yet about how narrowly the new court may read its own authority.

The case arose from claims by a former Exxon executive alleging race-based discrimination and seeking substantial damages.

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division has sued Cloudera Inc., alleging the company unlawfully favored temporary visa workers over available U.S. workers in its recruiting and hiring practices. The case, brought under the anti-discrimination provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act, is a notable reminder that immigration-related hiring enforcement is not limited to I-9 paperwork or visa petition scrutiny. It can also reach the design and execution of talent acquisition strategies themselves.

According to the government, Cloudera intentionally discriminated against U.S. workers, steering opportunities toward visa holders in a way that violated federal law.