No one supports frivolous lawsuits. But, few have done as much to stop supposed frivolous lawsuits as has Bob Perry. The huge home builder from Houston, Texas has donated tens of millions of dollars to political contests largely to oppose consumer lawsuits. He funded the SWIF boat for truth campaign against John Kerry. He helped
Coach Leach Amends his Petition
An employment relationship that went bad. It happens all the time from Burger King to any corporate boardroom. When it happens in Lubbock, Texas to a major college coach, it becomes big news. Mike Leach filed his Third Amended Petition in state court alleging breach of contract, wrongful termination, among other things. He has added
Final Paycheck Due in Six Days in Texas
Texas Workforce Commission is supposed to enforce the Texas statutes regarding wages. A statute is a law passed by the state legislature. TWC provides a summary of the Texas Payday Statute at: http://www.twc.state.tx.us/ui/lablaw/pdlsum.html. Many employees want to know when must an employer pay the last paycheck? Frequently, many employers withhold the last paycheck
An Employer’s Promise can Become a Contract
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
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
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
Eight Ways to Lose a Noncompete Case
Eight ways to lose a non-compete case. See gruntled employees blog to see how an employer can lose a lawsuit regarding a former employee who has apparently violated a noncompete agreement. The post provides a nice summary regarding what to avoid.
Signing Non-Compete Agreement in Wrong Place
You are asked to sign a non-compete agreement by your employer. But, you are not sure you want to sign. What do you do? One IBM management employee deliberately signed in the wrong place. He wanted more time to think about signing it. He signed in the space where the employer would sign. Then, he
Mandatory Arbitration is a Loser for the Employee
Mandatory arbitration holds few benefits for the employee. In the labor union context, it is helpful. The union and employer can pick the arbitrator they want. Both union and employer have knowledge of the different arbitrators and their particular biases. So, both sides can make an informed selection when they choose arbitrators. But, that does
Two Year Limit Reasonable for a Non-Compete
An interesting decision on non-compete agreements. The Court of Appeals in Houston found a non-compete reasonable. See: Gallagher Healthcare Ins Services v. Volgesang. The former employee was an insurance broker for Gallagher Healthcare. After twelve years, she resigned to work for a competitor. The non-compete provided that the employee could not have contact