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 »
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
If you believe you are being subjected to an illegal form of employment discrimination then you need to act quickly to preserve your claims. If you find that your workplace situation appears to fall into one or more of the types of prohibited discrimination then you should take the following steps: Dallas employment lawyer on employment discrimination
I think I am being discriminated against at work what should I do? 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 »
At the heart of a lot of age discrimination cases under the federal ADEA and state-level Texas Labor Code is an employer trying to modernize the business and employs age stereotypes to justify eliminating older workers. Employers in these cases want a “youthful appearance” or “faster” or “more energetic” or “more tech savvy” workforce. They
Is “workforce modernization” code for age discrimination at work? 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 »
Often Texas employees who are victims of employment discrimination lose their jobs through either the employer’s direct efforts to terminate the employee or by the employer’s indirect efforts to harass the employee until he or she feels like there is no choice but to quit (this is known as constructive termination). In most cases, employees
Employment discrimination and job reinstatement 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 »
Ultimately you will have to sign the severance agreement if you want the money or whatever benefit they offer; but that does not mean you should sign it without carefully considering the terms. There are basically three types of severance agreements with employers in Texas. I call them the “let’s just be friends” severance; the “business
My employer is offering severance in Texas. Should I sign the severance agreement? Read More »
Transgender people are part of the LGBTQI community but when discussing employment discrimination, transgendered employees are treated very differently. In Texas, sexual orientation is not protected against employment discrimination by federal or state law. Only a handful of cities in Texas have passed ordinances that prohibit sexual orientation as a motivation for employment discrimination. Transgender-based
Transgender employment discrimination in Texas Read More »
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), responsible for regulating against employment discrimination, reported several key cases in July 2013. EEOC’s reports discrimination in multiple forms, including: racial discrimination; sex discrimination; disability discrimination; religious discrimination; and age discrimination. Pro-employer groups continue to assert decreasing employment discrimination; but the ongoing anti-discrimination work of the EEOC and Texas
Employment discrimination still a widespread problem in Texas Read More »
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) released its new Strategic Enforcement Plan (SEP) this spring that includes six key anti-discrimination priorities that the agency will be focusing on through 2016. These new anti-discrimination enforcement priorities reflect the intent to increase litigation as both a deterrent effect on employers to increase their anti-discrimination policies to prevent
EEOC New Anti-Discrimination Enforcement Priorities Read More »
This is probably one of the most contentious and biggest question marks in employment law in this country. In 2012 there was a fight over religious organizations and health insurance plans over whether they must offer contraceptive coverage. (Remember, Georgetown law student Sarah Fluke testified before Congress and Rush Limbaugh called her a sl*t?) Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical
This year’s Masterchef season is plagued with allegations of sexual harassment by a few female contestants, including one actress and former Playboy model. We don’t know much about the details of the allegations. All contestants are under contract with Fox not to discuss what happens behind the scenes. I suspect these allegations will turn into a
Ramsay, Masterchef, Tipped Employees, Sexual Harassment…What’s Going On? Read More »
We live in a social media-driven world. It has its tentacles wrapped around almost every part of our life. Our news media relies on it for content. We interact with family members, friends and coworkers over it. It invades our pants, purses and backpacks through our phones and computers. With immediate access through our smartphones
Be careful about what you say on social media Read More »
Discrimination still occurs in the workplace. Sometimes it’s people who find it difficult to treat other people with respect. Sometimes it’s people not realizing the effect of their actions on others. This is true not only of more recently acknowledged and prohibited forms of discrimination, such as disability discrimination, but also of traditionally visible forms
Does employment discrimination still occur in the workplace? Read More »
Generally yes, the employer is not bound to follow its handbook. An employment handbook can be an employment contract that requires the employer to follow the procedures and rules. In almost every handbook there is a disclaimer that it does not create an employment contract. The employer is free to change the terms at its own discretion.
Can my employer violate the employment handbook under Texas employment law? Read More »
Lead by example. Employees treat the workplace and each other the way management treats the workplace and their employees. If you set low standards, your employees will set low standards. If you leave early every day, your employees won’t feel like they have to work a full day, either. However, if your employees see you
7 Tips for Employers to Prevent Employment Suits (updated 2022) Read More »
Ideally everything. Employment agreements, new hire paperwork, benefit plan descriptions, paystubs, corrective action notices, company newsletters, HR manuals, department manuals, emails relating to any of the above documents and anything else you might receive. Although a lot of these documents can be uncovered during litigation from your employer, it can be extremely important to have
What employment records should I keep? Read More »
Employers are permitted, and often encouraged, to establish a uniform dress code. There can be many reasons why an employer would want to establish a dress code. An employer might be concerned about workplace safety requiring safety gear, like goggles or gloves, clothing to prevent minor injuries, such as work boots or full length pants.
Dallas Employment Attorney on Employer Dress Codes Read More »