On its face, the recent Texas Supreme Court decision in Exxon Corp. v. Drennen, No. 12-0621 (Tex. Aug. 29, 2014), might seem to have limited relevance to Texas law. The Court held that the case was governed by New York law and decided the case based on New York precedent. But a closer look at… Read More »
Both Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code prohibit discrimination based on pregnancy. But do those statutes apply to an employee who has already given birth and is no longer pregnant? The First Court of Appeals addressed that issue in Kipp, Inc. v. Whitehead, No…. Read More »
1. My work environment is hostile. My boss hates me and yells at me. My co-workers are mean to me and gossip about me behind my back. I keep getting unfair write-ups. I’m not getting promotions. I can’t stand going to work anymore. Can I sue? Without more, no. The term “hostile work environment” is… Read More »
One of the essential elements of a discrimination claim is that the employee must have suffered an “adverse employment action.” The purpose of this element is to weed out minor complaints, such as write-ups and other matters that do not affect the terms and conditions of employment. As a general rule, an adverse employment action… Read More »
Most of the discrimination statutes require a mandatory administrative process as a prerequisite to filing a lawsuit. The employee must file a charge of discrimination with the EEOC or TWC within a specified number of days, and then the agency is supposed to investigate the charge. If the agency does not pursue the charge, it… Read More »
This is a paper that I presented at the 4th Definitive Ad Litem Seminar on April 11-12, 2014. The event was hosted by the Juvenile Law Section of the Houston Bar Association. How Employment Law Can Help You and Your Client in Adoption, Child Placement, and Other Family Court Matters The paper discusses three topics:… Read More »
Consider this scenario: Employee A has worked in sales for Employer B for many years. In addition to a small salary, Employee A gets a 4% commission on all sales. On July 1, Employee A’s employment ends, either because Employee A quits or Employer B fires Employee A. There are pending commissions from May and… Read More »
1. How is a wage claim different from filing a lawsuit? If an employer fails to pay wages or other compensation to an employee, the employee can always file a lawsuit against the employer. If the employee chooses to sue, then all of the usual rules relating to lawsuits apply. However, Texas law provides a… Read More »
Thirty-three City of Austin employees sued for age discrimination, claiming that the terms of their transfer from a defunct department to the Austin Police Department had a disparate impact on older workers. They won the case to a jury. On February 7, 2014, the Austin Court of Appeals affirmed the judgment in City of Austin… Read More »
1. What is a constructive discharge? The typical scenario for an employment law case is that the employer has fired the employee. Assuming that the fired worker was an at-will employee, the question is whether the worker has a wrongful termination claim based on discrimination or retaliation. But what if the employer did not fire… Read More »
