Four former top aides to Attorney General Ken Paxton are suing him for violating state whistle blower laws. I wrote about that lawsuit here. AG Paxton has hired Bill Helfand, a well-known Houston employment lawyer, to defend him. Mr. Helfand will be paid $540 per hour for his services. In answer to the lawsuit,
During this COVID crisis, many folks are being asked to risk their health and possibly their lives to keep the business running. What about teachers? The state of Texas has mandated that school districts provide in-person teaching for any family desiring it. That means school districts are pressuring teachers to return to in-person teaching, even
As expected claims for unemployment benefits in Texas have skyrocketed. The Texas Workforce Commission website crashed on Thursday due to the heavy usage. The website usually sees 10,000 visitors per day. That site had 40,000 visits on Tuesday of last week and 50,000 on Wednesday. The Thursday crash was brief. Unemployment claims as of Tuesday,
The President signed into law the Families First Coronavirus Response Act yesterday. See the new Act here. It amends the Family Medical Leave Act. The FFCRA applies to employers with fewer than 500 employees. This provision may cause confusion, since the FMLA itself applies to employers with more than 50 employees.
The FFCRA covers
What happens when an employee is subjected to harsh treatment, but that harsh treatment does not include termination, demotion or loss of pay? In Welsh v. Fort Bend ISD, 941 F.3d 818 (5th Cir. 2019), the court addressed what is an adverse personnel action. Ms. Welsh was a teacher at Fort Bend ISD. Ms.
We are seeing in real time what happens when an employee blows the whistle on his/her employer or when s/he complains about discrimination. Pres. Donald Trump has reportedly discussed firing the White House employees who have testified against him. He has discussed returning LTC Vindman to the Pentagon and firing Ambassador Bill Taylor after they
Advertising slogans can be a precious thing. Attorney Melissa A. Wilson has sued San Antonio attorney Heather C. Tessmer in federal court for the use of the slogan, “Ever Argue with a Woman?” Ms. Wilson has used a similar slogan. “Ever Argued with a Woman?” in Florida. Ms. Wilson says she has used the slogan
A recent jury in the Western District found Southwest Research Institute, one of the largest employers in San Antonio, guilty of retaliating against a female worker who complained about discrimination. The jury awarded her $410,000. I previously wrote about that jury result here. The jury awarded $335,624 in lost pay and $260,000 in compensatory
Some employers try to avoid the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act by claiming an hourly employee is a manager or simply that the employee is paid on a salary basis. In Kim v. Umami Grill & Sushi, LLC, No. H-18-850, 2019 U.S. List. LEXIS 31054 (S.D. Tex. 2/27/2019), the employer moved
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires all businesses and governments to make their facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. That includes deaf persons. What do hearing impaired persons need to access your facility? Well, they might need an American Sign Language interpreter. If a hearing impaired person requests an ASL interpreter, every business and every