The significance of Mediated Settlement Agreements (MSA) in Texas divorce cases has been reinforced by the recent opinion of the Texas Supreme Court in the case of In re Stephanie Lee. This ruling clarifies that family courts cannot refuse to accept an MSA solely because the judge believes it may not be in the best […]
At the heart of a lot of age discrimination cases under the federal ADEA and state-level Texas Labor Code is an employer trying to modernize the business and employs age stereotypes to justify eliminating older workers. Employers in these cases want a “youthful appearance” or “faster” or “more energetic” or “more tech savvy” workforce. They
Is “workforce modernization” code for age discrimination at work? Read More »
The fluctuating work week is perhaps the least understood subject in wage law under the Fair Labor Standards Act. It is so misunderstood that even federal judges in Texas don’t understand it. The Fifth Circuit rejected the improper application of the fluctuating work week by the Northern District of Texas in Dallas in Black v.
Fluctuating Work Week FLSA calculations Read More »
Texas and federal discrimination law prohibit only certain types of employment discrimination. An employee may file a charge of discrimination or lawsuit on employment discrimination only for a trait protected by law. If your employer takes action against your job or compensation then you must show the employer did so because you have a protected trait. The traits
When can I sue for employment discrimination? Read More »
I was down in Cleburne, Texas this morning for a hearing on behalf of a client and decided to check out the scene of Cleburne’s most famous (or infamous) location, the property at the heart of the Supreme Court case City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center. To very briefly explain the facts, in 1980
City of Cleburne v. Cleburne Living Center Read More »
As I discussed in a prior blog post and this page about property division, Texas is a community property state. Simply put, the majority of property acquired during a marriage is community property. That community property is jointly owned by both spouses. Under the Texas Family Code, community property is subject to a just and
Fort Worth divorce lawyer explains the presumption of community property Read More »
Often Texas employees who are victims of employment discrimination lose their jobs through either the employer’s direct efforts to terminate the employee or by the employer’s indirect efforts to harass the employee until he or she feels like there is no choice but to quit (this is known as constructive termination). In most cases, employees
Employment discrimination and job reinstatement Read More »
Among the top concerns in any Texas divorce is the issue of financial cost. It’s not just the cost of hiring lawyers but the costs of all the mechanics of a Texas divorce, including filing fees with the Family Court, appraisals, retrieving financial records, expert testimony and so forth. Admittedly, the cost of attorneys represents the
Ways to resolve Fort Worth contested divorces Read More »
In what has been a strange and alarming string of events, the Dallas ISD private busing story has reached a conclusion today. Dallas ISD prohibits the use of 12-15 passenger vans to transport school children to and from school due to the questionable legality of their use and the risk of death and serious bodily injury
DISD bans large passenger vans due to crash and rollover risk Read More »
In my 2010 article about KSOPs, I discussed how KSOPs risk employees over-leveraging their employment into excessive financial risk. KSOPs blend 401k and ESOP plans in which the employer uses an ESOP with the employer’s stock as an investment as an investment option within the 401k to let employees use their retirement savings to invest in
Blackberry layoffs show why KSOPs are bad for employees Read More »
A common statement I hear at my law firm about Texas diminished value claims is the insurance company insists they will not pay diminished value claims. In fact, this is probably the #1 statement I hear from people looking for help settling their diminished value claim. Insurance companies are experts in defending against car wreck claims.
Most insurance companies use a diminished value calculation known as “17c”. This diminished value calculation was developed by Infinity Insurance and first implemented in a court by State Farm in a Georgia lawsuit in which State Farm submitted this calculation method as a way to calculate diminished value. The court in that case (Mabry v.
This week, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals published its decision in Bland v. Roberts, a First Amendment case regarding a Facebook “like”. I wrote about this case last year in my National Law Review article on social media and harassment. I contended that a “like”, “retweet” or “+1” is evidence of employee support of employment-based
A Facebook “Like” is protected First Amendment Speech Read More »
In a highly important move, the Department of Labor released guidance on how ERISA-governed employee benefit plans will treat same-sex marriages following the Supreme Court’s overruling of DOMA’s definition of marriage as limited to one man and one woman. ERISA-governed benefit plans include private employer benefit plans like 401k plans, defined benefit pensions and health
DOL releases official guidance on ERISA and same sex marriage Read More »
Earlier this week I wrote about Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) and the “use it or lose it” rule. Today’s post discusses Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), which are a very different kind of account. FSAs and HSAs both give employees tax-advantaged opportunities to finance health care costs in a consumer-driven health insurance plan; but HSAs are far
Health Savings Accounts: when you can have one Read More »
Flexible Spending Accounts, or FSAs, allow employees to make tax-advantaged contributions towards their health care costs for the year. The FSA is distinct from the employer’s ERISA-governed health insurance plan; but the two operate closely. The employer’s insurer may even administer the FSA. The employee, and possibly the employer as well, contributes each year which
Flexible Spending Accounts: Use It or Lose It Read More »
A common question for Texas employees is, “what rights do I have to maternity leave”? Under Texas law, employees have limited rights to maternity leave. Texas state law does not increase maternity leave rights beyond the rights protected under federal law. The rights to maternity leave come from the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Family Medical
Maternity leave rights under federal and Texas employment law Read More »
When Congress passed the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) in 2008, many said it would open the floodgates. Everything could become a disability. That hasn’t proven entirely true; but the ADAAA certainly expanded the scope of disabilities covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act. One issue is whether obesity qualifies as a disability under the ADA or ADAAA.
Is Morbid Obesity an ADA Disability? Read More »
The Texas Family Code allows parties to enter into a prenuptial agreement, or prenup, before marriage. It makes those agreements enforceable so long as they meet the requirements set out in the Texas Family Code. A prenup in Texas is an agreement between two people prior to entering into marriage that contractually determines property issues during
Should I get a prenuptial agreement in Texas? Read More »
Summer is normally a quiet time in the law because Texas and federal legislators take the summer off; but this summer has been particularly significant for employment law. One of the most important changes came through the Supreme Court’s holding in United States v. Windsor, Executor of the Estate of Spyer, et al. in which
FMLA and same sex marriage Read More »