Many potential clients, friends and some folks I barely know share their knowledge with me about employment law. Unfortunately, many of them are flat wrong. Here are a few of the more common employment law myths I encounter.
“At will” employment means an employee can be fired for anything.” Texas is an at-will
It could happen to anyone. But, when it happens to a lawyer, problems will follow. An email was sent to attorney Aaron Allison notifying him that a motion for summary judgment had been filed. Unknown to Allison, the email was caught in an obscure spam folder. Mr. Allison did not see the email. He did
On Nov. 25, 2019, Judge Jason Pulliam granted the employer’s motion for summary judgment in Richardson v. The Medical Team, Inc., No. 18-CV-00151 (W.D. Tex.). It is a remarkable case. On Jan. 20, Renee Richardson emailed HR that she believed she was the victim of discrimination based on her race. She accused Alan Garza
Courts have only just started wrestling with the limits of online freedom in the workplace. A decision from the New Jersey Supreme Court provides some guidance. In the case of Stengart v. Loving Care Agency, the former employee left her job. She also left behind her employer issued laptop. On that laptop, she had sent
For some years now, some clever scam artists have bilked many otherwise bright and clever lawyers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. I myself have received this same email dozens of times. They always go like this: "Hi, my ex lives in your jurisdiction (note the scammers never actually name your state or city).
There is a story making the rounds of the internet about a man named Dave who ordered some gaming controllers. He paid for them and expected to receive a pre-order discount. Ocean Marketing’s Public Relations representative, Paul Christofor, however, had bad news for him. Paul told Dave via email that he placed an order, the
The female administrator who sent some bawdy emals has resigned. Donna Laird, the former radiography director for St. Phillip’s College quit after an investigation into her sexist, racist and raunchy emails. See San Antonio Express News report. I previously discussed her emails and the EEOC complaint by Warren Parker here. Mr. Parker was
You would think people would know better, by now. St. Phillip’s College, a junior college, part of the Alamo Community College District system, is investigating an administrator at St. Phillip’s for sending hundreds of bawdy emails. See San Antonio Express News report. Warren Parker, an instructor at St. Phillip’s, filed a complaint with the EEOC
Yes, emails sent from the workplace almost always belong to the employer. That still seems to be a shock to many employees. Look at the story of Chris Gonzalez, grandson of a well-known, former San Antonio Congressman. See San Antonio Express-News story. Mr. Gonzalez has reportedly been sending harassing emails to a former girlfriend.
It was bound to happen sooner or later. A lawsuit has been filed over the employer’s requirement to check email after hours. More and more employers are issuing Blackberries and their equivalent to employees with the stated or implicit understanding that the employee check email after hours. 
Such a requirement runs right into the Fair