Commentary
I’ve consulted with a lot of employees over the years. I’ve consulted with employees who complained to their employers about discrimination, sexual harassment, disparate pay treatment, incompetent and abusive managers and hostile work environments. Sometimes complaining was the right thing to do; sometimes the complaint shouldn’t have been made. But the one complaint that you [...]
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I often get asked by potential clients if it’s okay for them to record conversations at work to help prove their case. In Texas, recording is legal so long as one party to the conversation knows it’s being recorded. That means as long as you are a party to the conversation you can record it [...]
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It’s obviously not a good thing to be the victim of retaliation. If you are, however, it may be helpful to know what factors make for a good retaliation claim, meaning one you are more likely to win. Here are some things to look for: 1. Temporal Proximity Between Protected Conduct and Termination. Courts look [...]
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Employers have good reason to fear retaliation claims and plaintiff’s attorneys good reason to like them. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act makes it illegal to discriminate against an individual because of race, color, national origin, religion and sex. However, the best claims from an individual’s perspective are found in the section of Title [...]
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Over the years of representing employees in disputes with their employers, I’ve noticed employees share many of the same misconceptions about the function of human resources. Unfortunately, these misconceptions often lead employees down a path that compromises their career or leads to their termination. Here are 3 general rules you should know before complaining to [...]
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The general rule in Texas. The general rule in Texas is, absent an employment contract for a term or limiting an employer’s right to terminate, an employment-at-will exists, meaning an employee can be terminated for a good reason, a bad reason or no reason at all, so long as it is not an unlawful reason. [...]
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Federal employment law is a patchwork. Our federal employment laws are a patchwork of prohibitions and requirements enacted in fits and spurts in response to pressing perceived problems. Perhaps if, like Justinian, a former president had commissioned the best and brightest to recommend a comprehensive set of employment laws, our current law would be more rational [...]
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The most violated employment law. It has been said the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”)–the federal wage and hour law–is the most violated employment law in the country, and I believe it. It is a law that we as employment lawyers see even the largest, most well-informed companies routinely violating. Good intentions not enough. The reason? The FLSA [...]
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People are usually shocked to learn how little protection there is for whistleblowers in the workplace. There is protection, however, for whistleblowers working for hospitals, mental health facilities and any other treatment facilities in Texas. Who is protected. Employees and persons who are not employees (such as physicians with privileges, though it is not limited to them) [...]
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The Great Recession seems to have spawned an increase in commission disputes. This could be because money is tight and employers are looking for reasons not to pay their employees, or it may be that more people are out of work and can now assert such claims without fear of losing their jobs. Whatever the [...]
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