Employment law is probably the area of law most misunderstood of those that affect people on a daily basis. There is a lot of information floating around that is inaccurate or inapplicable to Texas law. Each state has its own set of labor and employment laws. What is true in one state may not be […]
7 misconceptions about Texas employment law Read More »
Although overtime pay has been a part of the Fair Labor Standards Act since its enactment in the 1930s employer continue to violate overtime rights and misunderstand how employees may be classified as exempt from overtime and minimum wage requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Texas Labor Code. Employees not exempt
Fort Worth Employment Lawyer and Overtime Pay Read More »
This month the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (which oversees appeals in New York, Vermont and Connecticut) in Glatt v. Fox Searchlight Pictures, Inc. rejected the nearly forty year old internship test applied by the Department of Labor in favor of a more business friendly test called the primary beneficiary test. This
Second Circuit undercuts Department of Labor unpaid internship test Read More »
So far Uber hasn’t had a great start in Texas (according to reviews). Uber has seen great success in other areas. It is widespread in the major cities in California despite an existing availability of taxi drivers. Major cities around the country are tackling the issues with Uber and other ride-sharing services in different ways.
Are Texas Uber drivers employees or contractors? Read More »
Disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Texas Labor Code (and formerly the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act or TCHRA) is not always a well understood subject in employment law. It is an even more difficult subject following the late 2000s expansion of the federal and state disability discrimination laws to
In 2012 the National Law Review published my article discussing the relationship between social media and workplace harassment. In that article, I discussed a case arising from the National Labor Relations Board in which two employees were fired for allegedly violating the employer’s social media policy prohibiting employees from disparaging the employer online. Here, the employer
“Like” Off: Facebook “Like” still at issue under NLRB social media policy Read More »
Most people think of assault as a criminal offense in which a person physically attacks another person. Although assault is a crime in Texas, it is also a personal injury. By historical definition, what we call assault today was two types of claims: assault and battery. Battery is the actual offensive contact. Assault is an
What is an assault in a civil trial in Texas? Read More »
On March 3, 1991 a Los Angeles man led California Highway Patrol and later Los Angeles police on a high speed chase that ended in the driver and his passengers trapped in a corner. The passengers surrendered and an altercation occurred between the Los Angeles police officers and the driver. The driver, Rodney King, was
Can I record video and audio at my workplace in Texas? Read More »
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released its 2014 performance report recently with some disappointing results about how charges of discrimination (the employment discrimination complaints filed with the EEOC) resolve. Of the 88,778 private sector charges filed the EEOC “resolved” 87,442 of those charges. That does not mean a favorable result occurred for the charging
If you believe you are the victim of employment discrimination then in most cases you need to file a complaint with the EEOC or Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division. This complaint is known as a charge of discrimination. A charge of discrimination invokes the agency’s power to investigate your claims. If they find probable cause
Should I talk to an attorney before I go to the EEOC in Texas? Read More »
When an employee claims an employer created a hostile work environment that resulted in a prohibited form of unlawful employment discrimination the employee must prove, among other things, that the employee suffered an adverse employment action. It is not enough that the employer was hostile towards the employee or that the employee found the workplace unpleasant.
Constructive Discharge and Supervisor Conduct in Texas: Fort Worth retaliation lawyer 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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
Employment lawyers like myself deal with my fair share of FMLA cases for clients. Among those FMLA claims I see employers violate FMLA often because the employer was ignorant of FMLA regulations or had serious misconceptions about FMLA. I also get plenty of calls from employees who believe their employer violated FMLA but the employee
5 FMLA Myths You Might Believe Read More »
The Americans with Disabilities Act and the Texas Labor Code require an employer to provide a reasonable accommodation to a qualified employee to assist the employee in performing the essential functions of the employee’s job and/or access the workplace. These federal and state laws require employers to engage the employee in an interactive process to
Does an ADA accommodation have to be the one an employee wants? Read More »
An article published today by Ignites discusses the annoying habits of coworkers according to a poll of mutual fund employees. Although we’re not all mutual fund employees, the habits pointed out in the survey are the annoying habits you find across all industries. The worst of the worst was loud phone conversations. A lot of
Coworkers and Their Annoying Habits in the Workplace Read More »