06 January

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What is negligent hiring? Answered by a Fort Worth employment attorney

in Bodily Injury, Civil Rights, Employment Litigation, Wrongful termination

Negligent hiring is a claim against a business for an injury caused by the company's failure to properly investigate its employees for fitness to perform the employee's job duties and that failure resulted in the employee causing the plaintiff harm in the course of the employee performing his or her job duties. There is a lot to unpack in that explanation and we will work through that in today's post. Negligent hiring is a personal injury claim against an employer for a bodily injury caused by an employee. The injury may arise from the employee's own negligence or the employee's intentional bad acts. At...

16 November

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The McDonnell Douglas burden shifting framework: Dallas employment discrimination lawyer explains

Posted by Adam Kielich

in Disability Discrimination, Employment Litigation

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 an analysis of the legal issues in a claim before a factfinder adjudicates the facts. In an employment discrimination suit alleging disparate treatment (different treatment on the basis of a protected trait), the plaintiff's claim of disparate treatment is typically reviewed on summary judgment under...

22 September

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What happens if my employer miscalculates my FMLA eligibility in Texas? Dallas employment lawyer explains

Posted by Adam Kielich

in Employee rights, Employment Litigation

FMLA protects a covered employee's right to up to twelve weeks of protected leave time for specific medical conditions for the employee or an immediate family member. An employee must qualify for FMLA protections to invoke the right to leave under the statute. An employee who does not qualify for FMLA leave must look to other laws or the employer's voluntary leave policy. To be eligible for FMLA leave: The employee is covered under FMLA (with sufficient service time and hours). The employer is a covered employer (with at least 50 employees in a 75 mile radius). The employee is eligible for the...

24 August

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What is the employment at will doctrine in Texas?

Posted by Adam Kielich

in Employee rights, Employment Litigation, Wrongful termination

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 body of law modifying the employment at will doctrine. Understanding the employment at will doctrine is vital for any employee employed in an at will relationship. Today's post will help unravel some of the confusion, particularly for those who have been wrongfully terminated in Texas. What...

18 August

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What is the statute of limitations to sue an employer in Texas? Fort Worth employment attorney explains

Posted by Adam Kielich

in Age Discrimination, Defamation, Employee rights, Employment Litigation, Hiring & Promotion, Racial Discrimination, Religious Discrimination, Retaliation, Retirement Plan/401k/Pension, Sex discrimination, Wage & Hour, Wrongful termination

In Texas an employment lawsuit may arise under a combination of federal, state and local laws. This is true whether the lawsuit is for wrongful discharge, pay or benefits issues, discrimination, FMLA, or other employment claims. All forms of employment claims carry a limitations period. The statute of limitations is not universal for each of these claims. Technical procedural rules may determine the calculation of the statute of limitations to a particular employment claim. The best thing to do if you believe you have an employment claim is to contact Texas employment lawyers. Today's post will discuss some of the limitations periods for common employment claims. Wage/Pay/Compensation...

03 August

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7 misconceptions about Texas employment law: Dallas employment lawyer

Posted by Adam Kielich

in Employee rights, Employment Litigation, Wrongful termination

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 true here in Texas. As an employment lawyer in Texas in Dallas and Fort Worth there is only so much I can do to help people who have been lawfully fired over a misconception of Texas employment law, particularly about wages, overtime, harassment, discrimination and FMLA rights....

30 July

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Fort Worth Employment Lawyer and Overtime Pay

Posted by Adam Kielich

in Employee rights, Employment Litigation, Wage & Hour

Although overtime pay has been a part of the Fair Labor Standards Act since its enactment in the 1930s employer continue to violate overtime rights and misunderstand how employees may be classified as exempt from overtime and minimum wage requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Texas Labor Code. Employees not exempt must receive overtime pay at a rate of one and a half times their regular rate of pay for each hour of work over forty hours in the workweek. FLSA Exemptions for Minimum Wage and Overtime Pay There are a number of exemptions under the Fair Labor...

19 June

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Are Dallas-Fort Worth Uber drivers employees or contractors?

Posted by Adam Kielich

in Employee rights, Employment Litigation, Wage & Hour

So far Uber hasn't had a great start in Dallas and Fort Worth (according to reviews). Uber has seen great success in other areas. It is widespread in the major cities in California despite an existing availability of taxi drivers. Major cities around the country are tackling the issues with Uber and other ride-sharing services in different ways. Many cities are adopting ordinances restricting the ride-share business or requiring drivers to follow the same safety and insurance regulations to operate in the city. Other cities, like San Antonio, have loosened restrictions to encourage these businesses to provide private transportation in...

04 June

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Sex discrimination victims not always women: Fort Worth sexual harassment lawyer explains

Posted by Adam Kielich

in Employee rights, Employment Litigation, Sex discrimination

Last month the EEOC settled a sex discrimination lawsuit against restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday. The EEOC settled in the amount of $100,000. The suit alleged the employer discriminated against male employees by offering female employees more favorable employment opportunities. This case is a good example of gender discrimination against men. It breaks the stereotype that sex discrimination lawsuits always have female victims. Sex discrimination lawsuits and male victims In this lawsuit, the restaurant chain sent out a nine-state announcement of available temporary summer positions in the resort town of Park City, Utah which would have greater earnings and company-paid housing. The announcement declared...

01 June

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Is a Texas firefighter who can’t fight fires disabled? Dallas disability discrimination lawyer discusses

Posted by Adam Kielich

in Disability Discrimination, Employment Litigation

Disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Texas Labor Code (and formerly the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act or TCHRA) is not always a well understood subject in employment law. It is an even more difficult subject following the late 2000s expansion of the federal and state disability discrimination laws to include a larger swath of mental and physical disabilities and those regarded as disabled (even if not actually disabled). Disability meaning under Texas and federal employment law A Supreme Court of Texas opinion from 2014 articulates the distinction between what is a disability under the meaning of...