I’ve written in the past about employee background checks and the laws that pertain to them here in Texas, particularly with regard to criminal background checks. Employment background checks in Fort Worth and Dallas are a big issue because right now it’s an employer’s labor market and even the slightest issue in a background check can […]
A peek into employment background checks from the employer’s perspective Read More »
As a plaintiff’s lawyer I hear a lot of the support “tort reform” nonsense that goes around. Tort reform sounds nice. It sounds like an honest effort to eliminate abuse of the legal system. Who can’t get on board with that? I’d like to rid abuse of the legal system. The problem is tort reform
Tort Reform Garbage: “Judicial Hellholes” Read More »
As somebody who spent a decade working in employee benefits and now practices employee benefits law, I have an understanding of the employee benefits industry. When I saw WFAA in Dallas covering a report about retirement savings I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to fact-check. Predictably, the piece mixes a little truth with a lot of
Dissecting fact and fiction from a recent report on retirement savings Read More »
Many large employers, particularly retailers, include anti-union information or videos as part of their new hire training process in an effort to prevent unions from gaining a foothold with workers. These videos have been around for a while in all their cheesy, disinformational glory. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) permits employers to share their
Behind the scenes with Target’s anti-union video Read More »
Sarbanes-Oxley, passed in 2002 in the wake of the Enron disaster, includes a protection in Section 806 that employees of a publicly traded company from retaliation for whistleblowing on accounting fraud and other prohibited acts under Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX). In the past, most courts held that the employees of contractors to public companies did not enjoy
Sarbanes-Oxley retaliation claims apply to employees of contractors Read More »
The Family and Medical Leave Act is a federal law that protects the rights of employees to up to twelve weeks of medical leave within a twelve month period for treatment of a serious medical condition. FMLA protects not only the right to a single continuous leave period; FMLA also protects the right to take
Should I ask for FMLA intermittent leave? Read More »
Today’s society is moving increasingly towards becoming a paperless society. That includes the way we pay for goods and services. It is rare that people pay in cash, especially with the reward systems attached to credit cards. The convenience of throwing down plastic comes with a price, at least to the business owners. Credit card
When can employers deduct credit card fees from tips in Texas? Read More »
Back in 2012, several local Dallas, Fort Worth and Denton media outlets reported a racial discrimination suit involving a prosecutor at the Denton County District Attorney‘s office and her allegations that an assistant DA, much higher up the food chain, had made racially discriminatory remarks that constituted a hostile work environment. The trial court awarded
Denton County prevails in racial discrimination appeal Read More »
In a Texas divorce, one of the major assets to address in a property division include retirement accounts, such as a 401k or defined benefit pension plan. Retirement assets within a private employer’s retirement plan are typically governed by ERISA. ERISA, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, establishes particular processes for dividing assets
Earning the Q in your QDRO Read More »
This month the federal Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its decision in Summers v. Altarum Institute. It’s the first appellate court to address the definition of “disability” under the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA). The ADAAA has been a tremendous source of agony for employer-side lawyers (and employers). It expanded the meaning of
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 »
Texas is no exception to companies hiring employees as “independent contractors” to skilled positions. Sometimes companies legitimately hire independent contractors to perform specific tasks that they cannot or prefer not to perform in-house. This combination of uses for independent contractors has led to an ever-growing subset of workers outside the traditional employer-employee relationship. The employer-independent contractor relationship
Texas non-compete agreements and independent contractors 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 »
This week I fielded a question from a soon-to-be-retiree regarding her pension that I thought was worth sharing. Her employer offers a defined benefit pension plan, which she is fortunate enough to receive. Her employer’s pension plan offers the opportunity to receive benefits in the form of a single lump sum payment or various annuity
It’s your pension. Who is your financial adviser helping? Read More »