A recent Pew Research poll indicates 73% of the U.S. population uses social media. It’s out there. There are so many social media outlets to choose from it’s difficult these days to find people not on multiple social media sites. Although Facebook may be suffering from a wave of withdrawal, other sites are maintaining their status […]
Social media and employment discrimination claims Read More »
Overtime rules under the Fair Labor Standards Act and Texas Payday Law result in improper wage calculations in employment law. Some employers engage in illegal acts to avoid paying overtime. Many fail to fully understand when they must pay overtime and how the calculation of overtime pay must occur. (For a primer on overtime pay,
Overtime pay with personal leave in Texas Read More »
Beginning January 1, 2014, the IRS began enforcing rules on restaurant mandatory gratuities that will have an impact on both the income of tipped employees and how restaurants can get themselves in hot water with the Department of Labor and/or IRS by misapplying these mandatory gratuities. Restaurants typically charge these mandatory service charges for large
IRS Rules for Mandatory Gratuity Read More »
Noelle Roni, the former principal at charter school Peak to Peak Elementary in Colorado, was allegedly terminated in November for opposing what can only be described as a bizarre school practice. According to news reports, the school fired Roni after she demanded cafeteria workers stop stamping the hands of students who received lunches but did
Colorado Principal Fired for Opposing Bizarre School Practice Read More »
You request FMLA leave. Your employer requests medical certification. You provide it. Your employer approves your FMLA leave. You take leave. Then, while you are on FMLA leave, your employer is sending you requests for new medical certification? Can your employer do that? The answer is yes, under certain circumstances, your employer can request new
FMLA leave medical recertification: rules and regulations Read More »
A question I receive to my Texas law firm is what shows up on an employer background check in Texas. Employers are increasingly performing background checks on job applicants in Texas. They look at both credit information and criminal backgrounds. There is considerable confusion about what employers can legally see in a background check in
Employer background checks in Texas: what do they show? Read More »
I often receive questions regarding Texas employees and when they should receive their final paycheck from their employer. In Texas, the law governing the timing of your final paycheck is the Texas Payday Law, which is similar to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act but includes some additional, state-specific rules for employee wages. Under the
Texas Payday Law and final paychecks Read More »
Earlier in the year I wrote a post here about the dangers of holiday parties for employees. It’s that time of year when the holiday party/christmas party/whatever party happens. The holiday party can be a great opportunity for employees to embarrass themselves or injure their career. A former employer of mine used to throw a large
It’s that holiday party time again… Dallas employment attorney discusses the problems Read More »
FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act) medical leave is a huge source of employment litigation in Texas and around the nation. One of the major issues in FMLA leave and FMLA litigation is how the employer calculates eligibility for medical leave. FMLA protects medical leave for qualified medical conditions up to twelve weeks within a
FMLA and twelve month period for eligibility Read More »
This month the Supreme Court of the United States will hear oral arguments on Sandifer v. U.S. Steel Corp., coming out of the Seventh Circuit, dealing with the “changing clothes” language under Section 3(o) of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Sandifer deals with a group of steelworking employees who are required to put on protective
Sandifer v. U.S. Steel Corp. — FLSA Section 203(o) Read More »
Employers who want to thin the herd of highly paid, older employees often offer early retirement incentive packages that trade off an increased pension benefit or severance package in exchange for an employee agreeing to voluntarily retire early. Early retirement is typically offered to a large number of employees before the company decides to engage
Age Discrimination and Early Retirement Incentives Read More »
In the 1990s and early 2000s, a huge swath of employers added mandatory arbitration agreements to their employment applications and shoved arbitration agreement forms in front of their current employees. It was part of a larger push for arbitrating disputes with the idea that arbitration is cheaper than litigation. Over the past decade or so
The Danger of Ignoring Employment Arbitration Agreements in Texas Read More »
The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) protects the right of employees to twelve weeks of medical leave in a twelve month period so long as the employee has worked 1,250 hours in the current or prior calendar year and the employee works at a work location in which the employer employs at least fifty
FMLA leave and exempt employees Read More »
You worked for decades at an employer, retired and began receiving your defined benefit pension from your employer. You have planned your finances around your pension payments, social security and other sources of retirement savings. Then a letter shows up from the pension administrator. No, it isn’t your monthly check. It isn’t a spare check,
Pension overpayments / pension recovery: Dallas pension lawyers Read More »
FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act) issues represents a substantial portion of the employment law work I perform for clients. FMLA claims are common due to employer mismanagement or misunderstanding of FMLA duties. Even large, Fortune 500 employers fail to properly administer FMLA leave. The employee seeking FMLA leave may suffer discrimination, harassment, interference with FMLA
FMLA D.O.L. complaints and lawsuits Read More »
The fluctuating work week is perhaps the least understood subject in wage law under the Fair Labor Standards Act. It is so misunderstood that even federal judges in Texas don’t understand it. The Fifth Circuit rejected the improper application of the fluctuating work week by the Northern District of Texas in Dallas in Black v.
Fluctuating Work Week FLSA calculations Read More »
Texas and federal discrimination law prohibit only certain types of employment discrimination. An employee may file a charge of discrimination or lawsuit on employment discrimination only for a trait protected by law. If your employer takes action against your job or compensation then you must show the employer did so because you have a protected trait. The traits
When can I sue for employment discrimination? Read More »
This week, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals published its decision in Bland v. Roberts, a First Amendment case regarding a Facebook “like”. I wrote about this case last year in my National Law Review article on social media and harassment. I contended that a “like”, “retweet” or “+1” is evidence of employee support of employment-based
A Facebook “Like” is protected First Amendment Speech Read More »
A common question for Texas employees is, “what rights do I have to maternity leave”? Under Texas law, employees have limited rights to maternity leave. Texas state law does not increase maternity leave rights beyond the rights protected under federal law. The rights to maternity leave come from the Pregnancy Discrimination Act and the Family Medical
Maternity leave rights under federal and Texas employment law Read More »
Summer is normally a quiet time in the law because Texas and federal legislators take the summer off; but this summer has been particularly significant for employment law. One of the most important changes came through the Supreme Court’s holding in United States v. Windsor, Executor of the Estate of Spyer, et al. in which
FMLA and same sex marriage Read More »