Arbitration is becoming more and more a significant feature of the legal landscape. Arbitration is a creature of contract. Whatever the parties agree to becomes the arbitration. What if the parties agree to arbitration, but then allow some form of appeal? In a recent decision, the Fourth Court of Appeals wrestled with that question. In
Many workers believe they have been subjected to discriminatory comments by co-workers. Harassment by co-workers is sometimes referred to as a hostile work environment. It does not become actionable until management becomes aware of the harassment and fails to take action. But, what if the perceived discrimination is not necessarily discrimination? In Barnes v. Prairie
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sued a local icon, Whataburger. The Tallahassee Whataburger, the EEOC alleges, harassed a manager after she refused to hire only white people. The EEOC claims the General Manager told the assistant manager to only interview people with “white sounding” names. Vanessa Burrous, instead, hired seven black employees and one
What is a disability? A potential client asked me that recently. A broken leg, for example, is not an impairment that would qualify for coverage under the Americans with Disabilities Act. To qualify as a disability, the impairment must be permanent or something like permanent. It must also be serious. In Datar v. National Oilwell
The Fourth Court of Appeals denied the appeal of the City of San Antonio regarding its labor agreement with the San Antonio Firefighters Union. See San Antonio Express News report here. The City had argued that the evergreen clause in the Collective Bargaining Agreement made the contract an unconstitutional “debt.” This is the second
There is a song about a Scottish soldier who perished during WW I in the trenches. It goes like this (with English translation):
Lay me down in the cold, cold ground
Where before many more have gone
Thoughts of home take away my fear
Sweat and blood hide my veil of tears
Once a year
Mary Ellen Johnson worked at Southwest Research Institute for many years before she was fired. Some time before her termination, she complained about possible discrimination against her due to her gender. She filed an internal complaint with SWRI in June, 2012. She then filed a complaint with the EEOC on Aug. 3, 2012. Several days
The Texas Whistleblower Law has many limitations. One of those limits includes the requirement that the whistleblower must report the alleged violation of law to a law enforcement authority. For most laws, the local police force would be the appropriate authority. But, what about those many obscure white collar type crimes? We see one such
If a female employee is assaulted and harassed, can she sue for assault or for sexual discrimination or both? According to the Waffle House, Inc. v. Wiliams, 313 S.W.3d 796 (Tex. 2010) decision, she would have to sue under the Texas Commission for Human Rights Act for discrimination. Limiting the female employee to sex
Texas has a whistleblower statute. It applies only to government workers. In a recent whistleblower decision, the Fourth Court of Appeals here in San Antonio reversed a grant of summary judgment. In the case of Torres v. City of San Antonio, No. 04-15-00664 (Tex.App. San Antonio 12/7/2016), Lt. Torres worked for the City Fire