Well, it must be getting ready to snow in July, because the Texas Supreme Court issued a pro employee decision. See Mike Maslanka’s post. In a 9-0 vote no less, they found in favor of a group of employees who stuck around when an employer was being sold. Management had told the employees
Be Prepared for Job Loss
Job troubles occur for hundreds of different reasons, whether due to discrimination, breach of contract or simply a bad economy. CBS News offers some good tips to be prepared for that sudden, unexpected loss of your job.
San Antonio Riverwalk Becomes Fully Accessible
The City of San Antonio is spending $3 million to make the Riverwalk accessible to wheel chairs. Title II of the ADA requires that public places be accessible to persons with disabilities. The Department of Justice supposedly enforces Title II. The EEOC enforces a separate part of the ADA. It is long past overdue that
Online Research Causes Issues in Jury Trials
Five members of a jury "friend" each other during a jury trial. In another trial, one involving murder, jury members look up key scientific terms on Wikipedia during deliberations. The jury looked up terms helping them understand how blood settles, an important issue in the murder trial. Court personnel found the results of the research
ADA Retaliation Claimant not Entitled to Compensatory, Punitive damages
The Ninth Circuit joins the Seventh Circuit in finding that an employee suing for retaliation under the Americans with Disabilities Act is not entitled to compensatory damages or punitive damages. Alvarado v. Cajun Operating Co., No. 08-15549 (9th Cir. 12/11/09). The court also ruled that a jury is not available. See brief discussion
San Antonio Court Upholds Non-Compete Agreement
You work for a company. Things are going well. But, the company still has not paid you everything you are entitled to under your compensation agreement. You become unhappy. A start-up lures you away. The start-up competes directly with your old company. You had signed a non-compete agreement with the old company. But, you think
Texas Supreme Court Overturns Another Jury Finding
The Texas Supreme Court has once again overturned a jury verdict and a successful appeal by a plaintiff. In Whirlpool, Inc. v. Camacho, Texas’ highest civil court found deficient the testimony of an expert who testified that a fire was caused by a faulty dryer. The fire took the life of teenage Joab Camacho
Good Summary on Non-Competes
Once again, Mike Maslanka writes a nice post, summarizing a complicated area of law. See his post summarizing the law on non-competes. Look at his summary near the end. You can successfully attack a non-compete agreement on various theories: 1) the information provided to the employee was not truly confidential, 2) the confidential information was
Employees Required to Check Work Email after Hours
Gene Lee writes a good post about whether workers should be paid for checking email after hours. More and more employees are being required to check their email after work. Accoding to a 2008 Pew internet survey, 50% of workers said they check their work email on weekends. 20% of workers said they were required
An Employer Cannot be an Ostrich in Response to Complaints
“sex harassment” “Duch v. Jakubek” “EEO” “Investigation” “Title VII”
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