A few months ago I wrote a post about problems with 50/50 custody arrangements. Generally, the problems I discussed are relevant to any kind of custom or creative custody arrangement deviating from the standard possession order or extended standard possession order schedule found in the Texas Family Code. 50/50 custody arrangements are not the only type […]
Creative Custody and Possession Schedules in a Texas Divorce Read More »
You may remember a few years ago there was a big kerfuffle about a Fidelity Investments employee in the North Texas who was fired for allegedly discussing fantasy football at work under an anti-gambling policy. Arguments were had whether fantasy football is gambling and whether it was fair that the employee was fired. It went
Can you be fired for playing fantasy football at work in Texas? Read More »
I get a LOT of calls and emails to my Texas law office from people who left their employer and the employer refuses to pay the former employee’s final paycheck. It’s inexcusable for employers to think that just because they no longer have to rely on the employee for continued work that they don’t have
Employer won’t pay your last paycheck in Texas? Read More »
In a recent post I discussed why parents sometimes want to terminate parental rights of another parent after a Texas divorce or child custody case. In that post I discussed why that is often not a financially advantageous decision. Today’s post takes the other side: whether a parent can terminate his or her own rights
The Texas sized myth of terminating rights to avoid child support Read More »
Military pensions, or military retirement, is a complex and tedious part of a Texas divorce. Generally, dividing retirement plans in divorces can be complex legal and financial undertakings; but military pensions carry unique functions that affect how they fit into a divorce in Texas. What works in one divorce may not be remotely close to the
Military retirement and Texas divorces Read More »
In Texas divorces with children, child support is almost always awarded. Along with the support comes an income withholding order (IWO) to garnish child support from the paying parent’s paycheck. The paying parent, the obligor, will have payments deducted and paid through the Attorney General or a domestic relations office. The income withholding order is often a
The Hidden Danger of Child Support Income Withholding in Texas Read More »
Yes, under section 107 of the Family Medical Leave Act, a covered employee may file suit in a federal or state court with competent jurisdiction to hear the FMLA claims. That means an employee with FMLA claims can certainly file those FMLA claims in Texas state courts. Rules governing which Texas state courts have jurisdiction
Can I file an FMLA lawsuit in Texas state courts? Read More »
That’s right. The federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently decided in Nobach v. Woodland Village Nursing Center, Inc. that a Jehovah’s Witness who refused to pray the Rosary with a Catholic patient and was fired for her refusal failed to prove her religious discrimination claim. Nursing home activities aide Nobach was asked to pray
During the asset division in a Texas divorce, an employer-sponsored retirement plan may be subject to the property division. Texas follows the community property rules, which distinguishes between property acquired during the marriage as marital property (community property) from property acquired before the marriage or during the marriage as the individual’s property (separate property). Community
Planning for a QDRO in your Texas divorce Read More »
Frequent urination can be caused by a number of medical conditions. Frequent restroom breaks can cause problems with the employer who wants the employee to be at his or her work station during the work day. In addition to the physical discomfort, it can be emotionally uncomfortable as co-workers or managers make comments about the
Frequent urinarion at work and disability discrimination in Texas Read More »
Parents in Texas sometimes decide they want to terminate another parent’s rights to their children. Often this occurs after a divorce or child custody case issued orders assigning rights to each parent. At some point after the end of the case relationships break down and one parent decides it is time to sever the parent-child
Terminating a parent’s rights in Texas: The Financial Risks Read More »
In 2012 I had an article published in the National Law Review regarding social media and workplace harassment claims. In the article I discussed the different approaches courts take to whether they consider social media activity to be within the workplace or beyond the doors of the work site. For hostile work environment claims, it
Social media can ruin your employment in Texas Read More »
If you grew up in the 1980s or the first half of the 1990s you remember awesome Saturday morning cartoons. I’m pretty sure there’s still Saturday morning cartoons; but when I was a kid during this time period there was wall-to-wall cartoons from 6am until 11am. A few years they even ran until noon. It was
When I speak with potential clients for personal injury or employment law claims, such as wrongful termination or discharge, in Texas I often notice some uneasiness during the conversation when discussing making the client whole for non-physical losses like pain and suffering. Decades of insurance industry advertising has been very effective in making people feel like
Valuing pain and suffering losses in Texas personal injury lawsuits Read More »
Employment blogs were en fuego a couple weeks ago about the new Pregnancy Discrimination Act guidance from the EEOC. The guidance clarifies important interactions between the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act. It also addresses expanding protections under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act for the lactation provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The
EEOC Issues New Pregnancy Discrimination Act Guidance Read More »
No, an employer cannot require you to sign a waiver of protection under FMLA for future leave or protection from discrimination on the basis of prior use of FMLA. Department of Labor regulations on FMLA prohibit employers from requiring employees to waive FMLA rights and hold any waiver invalid. Like minimum wage and overtime protections, employers
Can my employer make me waive FMLA protection? Read More »
The headline sounds crazier than the facts behind this case, which involves a disability discrimination suit on a wrongful termination. The case arose in a California federal district court against the employer, Walgreens. (The case is EEOC v. Walgreens.) The case involves an employee who broke a workplace rule to avoid a diabetic shock and lost her
EEOC lands $180,000 settlement with employer who fired an employee for eating chips Read More »
Injuries in grocery stores, department stores, restaurants and other public places have been a source of personal injury claims for over a century. These slip and fall injury claims have encouraged restaurants and stores to improve the safety features but injuries still happen due to poor upkeep and negligence to ensure the public areas are
10 Things to Do After a Slip and Fall Injury in Texas Read More »
This month the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which hears appeals from Texas, delivered a surprising appellate decision on overtime pay for workers in long haul freight transport in Allen v. Coil Tubing Services, LLC. In this case, the appellate court held that workers could be identified by class in determining whether an exemption
Fifth Circuit Deals Blow to Overtime Pay with MCA Exemption Read More »
Today’s post discusses an interesting case brought in Alabama under a racial harassment or hostile work environment case. This case is Adams v. Austal, U.S.A., LLC and the Eleventh Circuit’s appellate court’s decision is available here. The appeal deals with whether an employee may rely on evidence that the workplace was objectively hostile that he
Racial harassment case recently decided by the Eleventh Circuit Read More »