Employers are permitted, and often encouraged, to establish a uniform dress code. There can be many reasons why an employer would want to establish a dress code. An employer might be concerned about workplace safety requiring safety gear, like goggles or gloves, clothing to prevent minor injuries, such as work boots or full length pants. […]
Dallas Employment Attorney on Employer Dress Codes Read More »
Yes, Texas is an at-will state. At-will employment suggests that an employer and employee have equally bargained for the exchange of labor (from the employee) and payment of wages (from the employer) and freely engage in that transaction without the existence of an employment contract. This means that an employer may fire an employee for
Is Texas an At-Will Employment State? Dallas employment lawyer discusses Read More »
I don’t want to get in the habit of commenting on other states’ employment law positions but this case carries special weight. It may inadvertently affect the whole country because the case is before the federal Second Circuit Court of Appeals. This case deals with tip pools among tipped employees and non-regularly tipped employees. It
New York state Court of Appeals says Starbucks supervisors can share in tip pool Read More »
FMLA is the Family and Medical Leave Act, a federal law that provides certain employees leave protections. FMLA provides twelve weeks of leave in a twelve month period. The twelve month period can be a fixed twelve month period, such as the calendar year, or a rolling twelve month period so the beginning of an
Texas employment attorney explains what is FMLA Read More »
Discrimination in the workplace is prohibited when that discrimination is on the basis of one’s sex/gender, race, national origin, religion, age (if over forty), disability, pregnancy, genetic information and military service. Employment law prohibits it against both employees and job applicants. Employment discrimination on one of these classifications generally falls into two forms of conduct. This
Fort Worth Employment Attorney explains how employment discrimination occurs Read More »
An article published early this year discussed a survey by State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) proudly boasted that 74% of participants in 401k plans want to better understand how their savings will pay off in retirement. This should come as no surprise. Most workers have little or no formal or informal education in investing. Thanks
401k Participants Want Employer Help Saving for Retirement. No Kidding? Read More »
Tipping is a form of employee compensation in which employees receive wages from the employer and customers, who have no legal relationship with their the employer or the tipped employee. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Texas Payday Law both recognize tips as wages to the tipped employee. They are subject to minimum wage
Fair Labor Standards Act & Texas Payday Law and Tipped Employees Read More »
Under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) employers with fifty or more full time employees must provide health insurance to 95% of full time employees or pay a penalty. This “play or pay” provision has a lot of employers in a tizzy. Among the reasons is the ACA defines a full time employee at thirty hours per
New federal bills seeks to redefine what it means to be a full time employee Read More »
The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 is a federal law that establishes minimum wage and work hour regulations for most of our nation’s workers. It is best known for establishing minimum wage and overtime pay regulations. The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is one of several federal labor and employment laws that govern wages,
What is the Fair Labor Standards Act? Read More »
Under Texas law and federal law, an independent contractor is a person that performs services for another entity under some agreement, in exchange for compensation, free from the “control” of the entity paying for the services. An independent contractor is typically thought of in contrast to an employee or as self-employed. This is mostly an accurate
What is an independent contractor in Texas? Read More »
The laws around social media, especially in the employment context, are still evolving to meet the technological and social implications of social media in the workplace. Before delving into particulars, let me say that I think everybody needs to carefully consider what they post on social media websites because the information you put out there
Sexual harassment in the workplace is basically three forms of activity: Requests for sexual favors in exchange for receiving positive effects to your job or preventing negative effects to your job; Unwelcome sexual advances; and Verbal and/or physical bullying based upon one’s sex or gender. Sexual harassment perpetrator can be a direct supervisor/manager, some other person
What is sexual harassment in employment? Read More »
An ESOP is an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. It is an ERISA-governed employee benefit plan that allows the employee to purchase shares of the employer’s stock on a tax deferred-basis. (You don’t pay taxes today but you will pay taxes when you take your money out of the plan.) ESOPs were common before the rise
How does an ESOP work? How does it work with a 401k plan? Read More »
You may have many reasons to dispute your benefit plan, such as 401k or pension. You may disagree with the facts used to calculate your benefits, the formula used to calculate your benefits, an investment option or distribution opportunity denied. ERISA lays out a specific set of rules that plans must follow. You must comply
What can I do to dispute my benefit plan? Read More »
Sure. Employers in Fort Worth and Dallas generally can prohibit amorous and sexual relationships between coworkers. It is extremely common for employers to prohibit workplace relationships in some form or another. Most companies establish these policies to deter sexual harassment, maintain professionalism and prevent unfair treatment (either favorable or unfavorable). These policies are also enforced to various
Ok, let me start this off by saying I’m not normally a Cosmopolitan reader. My wife is a subscriber and there’s usually at least one issue hanging around the house. The other day I saw the most recent issue tossed on the coffee table. Among the articles advertised on the cover was the title of
A common concern posed by pension participants is how secure those payments will be in the future. Given the economic turmoil in the past few years, it is certainly a worthwhile question. The good news is that the vast majority of retirement benefits are more secure than you might think. As a Dallas employment attorney experienced
How secure are my pension payments? Read More »
Employers operate 401k plans at a cost. Like other labor expenses (hiring process, salary, vacation pay, etc.) employers have to pay for compliance with labor and employment laws. Benefit plans are somewhat unique. Under ERISA employers can shift the cost of plan administration from the plan sponsor to plan beneficiaries. 401k plan fees often are
401k Plan Fees – What Are They and Do They Matter? Read More »
This is among the concerns I hear as a Texas employment attorney from people about employment law issues. It is a legitimate concern. There is a lot of public discussion over the negative impact taking legal action against an employer can have on your job, if you still work for the company you are challenging,
Will suing my employer hurt my job in Texas? Read More »
ERISA, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, is a federal regulatory regime that governs private employer retirement, health care benefits and certain other employee benefit plans. It is a massive web of legislation, Department of Labor regulations and IRS regulations. ERISA also borrows from and incorporates securities regulations on investments (such as in 401k plans). ERISA
What is ERISA and why should employees care? Read More »