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The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (“GINA”) took effect on November 21, 2009.  GINA protects individuals from employment discrimination based on their genetic information.  Here’s the view of GINA from 30,000 feet. 1.     GINA applies to employers with 15 or more employees, employment agencies and labor organizations.   Joint labor-management committees controlling apprenticeship or other training [...]

Category : Blog &Employment Law News

The federal law protecting individuals from age discrimination in employment (the Age Discrimination in Employment Act or “ADEA”) does not apply to all employers, and even if your employer is covered you may not be.  Here’s the parameters. First, the ADEA only applies to employers with 20 or more employees.  I’ll spare you the details about [...]

Category : Blog &Commentary

Summer is almost here, and with summer will come interns and the recurring question, “Do I have to pay an intern?”  The short answer is, “It depends.” The Department of Labor has derived six criteria from a Supreme Court decision, Walling v. Portland Terminal Co., 330 U.S. 148 (1947), to determine whether the intern (” [...]

Category : Blog &Commentary

Arbitration is a private trial, generally before one or three arbitrators (usually attorneys or retired judges).  The results are binding and usually not appealable.   The rules of evidence do not apply.  The arbitrators are not required to follow the law or state a reason for their decision.  Here are four reasons arbitration is usually bad for [...]

Category : Blog &Commentary

I’ve noticed over the years that non-lawyers often confuse the concepts of right-to-work and employment-at-will. Because they are foundational concepts, it’s important to understand the difference. Employment-at-will is the general rule throughout the overwhelming majority of the United States. It’s the law in Texas. Employment-at-will means that, absent a contract to the contrary, an employer [...]

Category : Blog &Commentary

The law regarding sexual harassment is designed to encourage victims to report sexual harassment and give their employers the opportunity to correct it.  This means women are often reporting sexual harassment without first consulting an attorney.  Here are three things to remember when reporting sexual harassment. 1.  It’s Not Your Fault.  I didn’t understand this one [...]

Category : Blog &Commentary

One of the most common misconceptions non-lawyers have about employment law is that there is a generalized claim for a “hostile work environment.”  In Texas, just because your boss is hostile, yells at you, demeans you in front of others, does not, in-and-of-itself, make for a hostile work environment claim (although it could give rise to [...]

Category : Blog &Commentary

We get anywhere from five to fifteen call each day for new cases. Those calls have to be screened because, while I would love to speak with everyone who calls, if I did I would have little or no time to practice law. I know there are other employment lawyers who aren’t as busy or [...]

Category : Blog &Commentary

Having practiced now for twenty years, I’ve seen many a good employment discrimination case ruined or severely damaged, not because the employee was not the victim of discrimination but because of mistakes made after the discrimination occurred.  Here are the top three ways to ruin or damage your case if you have been the victim [...]

Category : Blog &Commentary

When the Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”) was passed in 1990, the business community trembled.  The ADA’s definition of disability was broad and seemingly covered millions of Americans.  In fact, the text of the ADA finds that 43 million Americans are disabled.  The ADA prohibited discrimination against those with disabilities and imposed upon covered employers [...]

Category : Blog &Employment Law News