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 »
EEOC lawyers have had a busy September starting and settling employment discrimination lawsuits. The EEOC accepts charges of employment discrimination in Fort Worth and Dallas at the Dallas, Texas office. Employment lawyers in Texas represent employees in these types of employment discrimination lawsuits. The following is just the listing of the EEOC activity reported in
EEOC employment lawyers busy this month on employment discrimination (2017) 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 »
EEOC mediations and lawsuits often end in settlement of claims for employment discrimination in Texas, including wrongful termination. An important question for many employees filing employment discrimination claims with the EEOC is what they can expect in a settlement. Many employment discrimination complaints filed with the EEOC in Dallas settle either in mediation with the
EEOC mediation and lawsuit settlement amounts in Texas 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 »
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 »
Last week the EEOC settled a Title VII sexual harassment and retaliation suit against multiple Dunkin Donuts franchises. The $330,000 settlement, which covers multiple employees, includes a multi-year training and oversight provision to avoid similar events in the future. The EEOC press release describes the events alleged in the lawsuit as follows: Hillcrest Marshall violated federal law by
EEOC hits Dunkin Donuts franchise for $330k in sexual harassment suit 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
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 »
The Texas Supreme Court has accepted a case out of the Dallas Court of Appeals that will give the state’s highest court the opportunity to expand or narrow its preemption doctrine on employment discrimination claims brought under Texas law. In 2009 the Texas Supreme Court rendered its opinion in Waffle House v. Williams that held
Texas Supreme Court to hear TCHRA preemption case Read More »
People often used the term lawyer and attorney interchangeably in the United States to denote people who work as legal professionals. Most do so without giving much thought as to why our profession has two labels for the same legal job. These terms have slightly different meanings. (And not just because lawyer jokes tend to
Difference between attorney and lawyer 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 »
Negligent hiring is a claim against a business for an injury caused by the company’s failure to properly investigate its employees for fitness to perform the employee’s job duties and that failure resulted in the employee causing the plaintiff harm in the course of the employee performing his or her job duties. There is a
What is negligent hiring under Texas law? Read More »
Although the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted 1991, as an employment discrimination attorney I continue to see employees suffer discrimination on the basis of a disability. Sometimes discrimination is based upon a disability cured or treated and no longer presents an issue for the employee. Under the ADA and the Texas Labor Code’s prohibition
Employment discrimination lawsuits are complex suits due to the intense focus on the facts and law involved. Many employment discrimination cases never make it trial because they fail to survive summary judgement. (Or because they settle at some point before trial.) In the journey of litigating an employment discrimination claim many reach summary judgment. Summary judgment is
The McDonnell Douglas burden shifting framework Read More »
The late 2000s and early 2010s saw a growth in litigation over 401k fees by employee-side ERISA attorneys. These often attacked large employers and major plan recordkeepers who profit from the kickback scheme known as revenue sharing. We’re still not done with that wave of litigation but we’re seeing a similar rise in litigation for pension
Employers struggling to win pension overpayment cases against retirees Read More »
All states except Montana follow the employment at will doctrine for employees. Although the employment at will doctrine governs employment relationships in Texas and most of the country since the days of the Founding Fathers, there is still a great deal of confusion about what this means. Part of the continuing confusion is the growing
What is the employment at will doctrine in Texas? Read More »