Just when we thought the Texas Supreme Court cleared things up regarding non-compete agreements, the court issues another decision that muddies the water. In Exxon Mobil Co. v. Drennen, 2014 WL 4782974 (Tex. 2014), the court addressed a non-compete agreement in which the employee would forfeit deferred
Non-competition agreements have been around for a long time. They have usually been used for saelsmen who have access to cloesly guarded customer lists and to doctors. But, now, they have been uased for hourly employees at a sandwich chain. Jimmy John’s has been sued because it requires employees to agree they will not work
The folks at Public Justice have written a bog post about the pernicious use of mandatory arbitration by American Apparel, a major U.S. clothing manufacturer. Based on an article in the New York Times, the post recounts the story of Dov Charney, long-time CEO of American Apparel. Mr. Charney was known for such witticisms
Under the Texas Payday Statute, terminated employees are not entitled to their vacation pay when they leave their job. So explains Russ Cawyer in this post. The same statutory provision applies to sick leave or severance pay. Such benefits are owed to the employee only if the departing employee has a valid contract providing
A couple of years ago, Ron Cain was demanding severance pay. See my prior blog post. Now, Ronnie Cain and his brother, Gary Cain are facing efforts by the City of Windcrest to seize the office condo they purchased. Windcrest alleges they purchased the condo with money stolen from the city. See San Antonio
My friend, Chris McKinney has written a helpful post about severance agreements. He answers the question, Should I ask a lawyer to review a severance agreement before I sign it? Yes, we all should have a lawyer review such an agreement. Chris lists several good reasons, but he biggest reason is to ascertain whether you
An employer can modify the at-will relationship. An employer can agree to terminate an employee only for "just cause." Many employers agree to do so so for key employees. But, how does an employer modify the at-will status of an employee? in Crystal City v. Palacios, 2012 WL 1431354 (Tex.App. San Antonio 201012) (not
I often tell clients or potential clients that in an at-will state, like Texas, your employer can fire you for anything. They can, for example, fire because you wear a blue shirt to work. Well, the law firm of Elizabeth R. Wellborn, P.A. in Ft. Lauderdale did just that . . . almost. They fired
I first wrote about this case here. An arbitrator failed to disclose his relationship with the attorney for one of the parties. The arbitrator, Robert Faulkner, a former US Magistrate, had long standing ties with the lawyer for one of the parties, Brett Johnson. The arbitration went well for Mr. Johnson of Fish and
You work for a company for 30 years, acquire a skill, and then join a new, smaller company doing the same job. You think you have reached a certain level of success. But, no, you have not. That is Teresa Jackson’s exprience. She worked for the Scooter Store in Newe Braunfels, Texas for over 31