A non-compete agreement in Texas is enforceable if it meets all five requirements under Texas law: it is part of an otherwise enforceable agreement; there is valid consideration; reasonable in time; reasonable in geographic scope; and reasonable in activities restrained. If the non-compete agreement satisfies all four elements, then the answer to the question: “Is […]
Are non-compete agreements enforceable in Texas? Read More »
Background checks are becoming an increasingly common part of the application process for major aspects of our lives including employment, housing, credit cards, college admissions and professional licensing. This continues to be true despite efforts of civil rights agencies like the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission (EEOC) to push back on the broad use of criminal
Super Lawyers is a division of Thompson Reuters, a private mass media and information business. People searching for lawyers or attorneys almost certainly will see law firms advertising Super Lawyers designations. These include Super Lawyers and Super Lawyers Rising Stars. People searching for lawyers may be impressed by this designation although they don’t really know
Super lawyers, rising stars, best lawyers and other attorney advertising in Texas Read More »
Dallas employment lawyers sometimes offer free consultations in their Dallas, Texas law firms. Most of the well-known employment attorneys in Dallas and Fort Worth do not offer free consultations. They may charge a fee of $75-300. Some lawyers offer free consultations but these may be personal injury lawyers or other trial attorneys who take on
Dallas employment attorneys with free consultations? Read More »
Employees suffering employment discrimination often worry about the effects of reporting employment discrimination to the EEOC. This is especially true for employees who still work at the job where discrimination occurs. Retaliation for complaining about employment discrimination is a real and serious concern. This concern may lead workers to not contact the EEOC or an
Are EEOC complaints confidential in Texas? Read More »
Texas employees often question the relationship between severance pay and unemployment benefits through the Texas Workforce Commission. Workers often think if they accept severance pay they are automatically ineligible for unemployment benefits in Texas. That is incorrect. The terms of the severance agreement determine whether you can receive severance and unemployment pay in Texas. Basic
Severance and Texas unemployment benefits: Can I take both? Read More »
Texas employees have good reason to worry about how the polarized political climate may affect their jobs. Certainly changes in employment laws could have a meaningful change to employment in Texas. These could occur in changes to: civil rights protections for gay and transgender employees; minimum wage and overtime pay regulations; investment adviser fiduciary duties
Can I be fired for discussing politics at work? Read More »
Here’s a tricky situation: you follow a specific instruction from your manager or a company policy. Then your employer fires you. Can this happen for following orders? Unfortunately, in most cases the answer: yes. Seems bizarre–and it is–but this is the nature of the at-will employment relationship. In an at-will employment relationship the employer can discipline an employee,
Can my Texas employer fire me for doing what my manager told me to do? Read More »
If you are fired (aka discharged, terminated) from your job then one of your first acts in almost all cases should be to apply for unemployment benefits. Applying for unemployment benefits through the Texas Workforce Commission is free so even if denied benefits you have only lost the time applying. This is true even if
Just been fired? Apply for unemployment benefits in Texas Read More »
In a tough job market it’s always difficult to turn down a job but sometimes the company culture is so toxic or the boss is so insufferable that it’s more harmful to your health and career than the benefit of the paycheck. Of course, that’s an easy thing to say when you have a paycheck.
Texas Employment Attorney’s 10 Signs You Should Not Take That Job Read More »
ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and the Texas Labor Code require employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with qualified disabilities. A reasonable accommodation allows a disabled employees equal access to the workplace and allow them to perform the essential functions of their jobs. Many employers refuse to provide any reasonable accommodation. This results in a failure
Before becoming an employment attorney I worked for one of the largest (maybe the largest) provider of 401k services. We provided various investment, customer service and recordkeeping services for 401k plans. Most people who call for information about their 401k plans will end up talking to my former employer or one of their competitors. Most
Why is there a 10% early withdrawal penalty to cash out a 401k? Read More »
Intermittent FMLA has always been and probably always will be a contentious issue between employer and employee. Employers often have negative attitudes about intermittent FMLA leave centered largely around self-serving beliefs that employees abuse the legally protected leave rights and do not really need the time off from work. Certainly some employees do abuse FMLA but
Can you get a beer on intermittent FMLA? Court says yes. Read More »
Most people understand volunteering means giving away free labor, often to a charity or other non-profit organization. However, sometimes Texas for-profit businesses seek “volunteers” as a way of receiving unpaid labor or an employer requires its employees to volunteer time for a charitable or civic cause. What about these situations? The Department of Labor has
What is a volunteer under Texas employment law? Read More »
Most of my work with FMLA clients in Texas involves helping them after they have sought FMLA leave and the employer has already violated their FMLA rights. As much as they need urgent help from an employment lawyer, it’s equally as important that employees understand how to properly exercise their rights under FMLA to ensure
7 Tips for Taking FMLA Leave Read More »
In loco parentis sounds like it means “crazy parent”. It is a Latin phrase that means “standing in the place of a parent”. It’s a legal doctrine in FMLA leave regulations. For FMLA leave the in loco parentis doctrine allows employees to take leave to care for an individual who has a parent-child relationship with the employee but
In Loco Parentis FMLA Leave — What is it? Read More »
On January 1, 2016 the new open carry law goes into effect across Texas. You may have seen coverage of the open carry protests around Fort Worth, Dallas and other cities. Much of that coverage was over people openly carrying assault rifles. The new open carry law does not change the status of long guns,
Texas Open Carry Law and Your Employment in Texas Read More »
The holiday season brings plenty of good times and festivities. It also brings along a lot of potential problems for employers and their employees when employers fail to respect their employees’ time and beliefs. Sometimes this happens because an employer has a particular religious belief or on the other hand does not share a particular
Watch Out for These 8 Holiday Employment Law Issues Read More »
You receive an envelope from your pension plan. As usual you think it’s either this month’s check or some notice you’ll scan and toss in the trash. You open it and it isn’t a check from your Dallas–Fort Worth employer. It is a notice. But not the kind of boilerplate legal notice that you normally
Does my employer have to collect interest on a pension overpayment? Read More »
Sometimes an employee has a medical condition or disability that qualifies for FMLA leave and leave under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as a reasonable accommodation. The issue how to protect the employee’s job through protected leave under the ADA and FMLA is complicated. Each law provides a different set of rights to leave
Can I take FMLA leave and leave under the ADA at the same time? Read More »