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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
From application to termination an employee often faces documents that an employer wants the employee to sign. These documents may be job applications, employee policy statements, authorizations to perform background checks, acknowledgements of receipts of policy documents, benefits paperwork disciplinary documents, acknowledgements of terminations, severance agreements, waivers of rights or claims against the employer and so on.
Do I have to sign that? A Texas employee’s dilemma. Read More »
In Texas you can request certain criminal records are destroyed or expunged in what is called an expunction (or sometimes misspelled as expungement). An expunction orders public agencies, such as police departments, courts and the Department of Public Safety, to destroy records. The expunction will also order private entities that house and report this information
Should I get an arrest record expunged in Texas? Read More »
Here in Texas our labor and employment laws generally cut in favor of employers over employees. Texas law surrounding an employer’s vacation policy is no exception. Employees are often surprised by employer restrictions on vacation use and issues involving whether unused vacation must be paid out when an employee leaves. Due to differences among state
Texas law on employer’s vacation policy Read More »
This week the media reported on a story regarding a transgender woman and a confrontation at a Planet Fitness location. (You can read the HuffPo story or the Fox News story.) Member Yvette Cormier complained at her local Planet Fitness that a transgender individual was in the women’s locker room. The company has a non-discrimination
Transgender Employees and Restrooms in Texas Read More »
Neither federal or Texas labor laws requires employers to give employees rest or meal breaks for most employees; but there are certain exceptions under the law. There are a number of misconceptions floating around. Insisting your employer owes you a break without legal entitlement could put your job at risk. Common incorrect beliefs include the
Does my employer have to give me breaks and lunches under Texas labor laws? Read More »
Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), eligible employees of covered employers can request up to twelve weeks of medical leave within a one year period for a serious medical condition of the employee or a family member as well as the birth or adoption of the employee’s child. When the employee requests FMLA leave
Can my employer disagree with my doctor’s FMLA certification? Read More »
Working a job that regularly involves traveling is tough work. The very nature of the traveling requires you to disconnect from home and family. It’s an especially difficult for those with families. It’s not just the long hours, it’s the frequent, complete disconnect from your home. In addition to the struggles of traveling, there is also
Travel Pay for the Traveling Employee in Texas Read More »
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 »
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 »
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
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 »
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
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 »
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 »