Texas Inpatient Consultants, LLLP, is a partnership that employs physicians to deliver medical care to hospitalized patients of other physicians. Texas Inpatient recruited Julius Tabe, M.D., to work for it in May 2014. Tabe signed an employment agreement with Texas Inpatient. The agreement did not include a starting date for Tabe’s employment. Instead, it stated that Texas Inpatient “will commence payment of salary/benefits only after the credentialing at all the facilities and orientation is completed and the supervising MDs believe that the employee is ready for commencement of duties.” The agreement stated that this process could take 90 to 120 days, and therefore the contract date will be redacted to reflect the start date of Tabe’s duties.

After signing the agreement, a change in family circumstances led Tabe to decide that he could not work for Texas Inpatient. In August 2014, Tabe wrote Texas Inpatient’s office manager to inform her that he was withdrawing his candidacy for the position. The office manager replied and noted that two of the four hospitals had successfully completed his credentialing and that Texas Inpatient expected him to start work on October