What happens when an employer requires everyone to come to work, but the COVID-19 continues to spread? After the initial shut-down, Valero Energy Corp. required all of its 1800 office workers to report to work by June 1, 2020. In the past month, 32 of those employees have tested positive for COVID-19. Several workers have
Americans with Disabilities Act
Collister Seeks Disqualification of Defense Counsel
What happens when a large employer first learns it is being sued for discrimination? How does that first phone call with counsel go? In most lawsuits, we never know. But, we get some clues in the case of Brian Collister v. KXAN. Mr. Collister, an investigative reporter who has worked in various Texas cities,…
COVID19 Fears at Work
So, a friend called me. She is a lawyer in small town Louisiana. She has been working a few years for a Public Defender’s office in a parish seat. She has been working from home, but now they want her back by next Monday. My friend has been diagnosed with Diabetes Type II. She also…
ABA Paper on Employment and COVID19
The American Bar Association periodically publishes brief papers on topics of popular interest. They call the papers “Fact Check” papers. The ABA has published a Fact Check paper on whether and to what extent an employee can refuse to work at unsafe work places. See that paper here. The paper points to the general…
Working from Home and the Coronavirus
Gilbert Garcia, a wonderful writer at the San Antonio Express News has penned a column about the coronavirus and working from home. He writes about the experience and what we learn from working from home. His column suggests we learn that many workers fear being away from work and being out of the loop. But,…
Fifth Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment
Many veterans have returned from the two wars with some degree of PTSD. I myself have some low level PTSD in limited situations. But, that does not mean we cannot perform our jobs. In Alviar v. Macy’s Inc., No. 17-1130 (5th Cir. 8/15/2019), the Fifth Circuit reversed an award of summary judgment. Plaintiff Alviar…
Schools Must Provide ASL Interpreters
It is required of every business and government in the country to hire an American Sign Language interpreter if a hearing impaired person requests one. That requirement of the Americans with Disabilities Act has been around since the law was passed in 1991. It is remarkable how few businesses and governments realize that. When I…
Do Not Include Impairment in Resume
If you are a person with an impairment, should you volunteer information about your impairment during an interview? When I worked at Disability Rights of Texas, we advised persons with disabilities to not discuss their impairment until necessary. An employer cannot lawfully ask about an impairment until a job offer…
Zachary Industrial Sued for Discrimination
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has field suit agains Zachry Industrial for discriminating against persons with disabilities. According to the San Antonio Express News, Zachry Industrial operates a refinery in Pascagoula, Mississippi and it has fired workers after they notified their employer of a disability. Zachry Industrial is headquartered here in San Antonio. See…
Texas Supreme Court Upholds Jury Verdict
In a recent decision, the Texas Supreme Court found in favor of an employee. And, as far as I know it did not snow last July. In Green v. Dallas County Schools, No. 16-0214 (Tex. 5/12/2017), Paul Green a bus monitor, urinated on himself while on the bus. He was fired and sued. The…