I discussed yesterday the case in which an employee’s daughter disclosed the settlement amount and caused a settlement agreement proceeds to be returned to the employer. See my post here. Now, I see the Florida court of appeals decision here. From the decision, it appears that the case was indeed dismissed. The plaintiff
Settlement Undone by Daughter’s Facebook Post
In every settlement of a discrimination claim, the employer always require a confidentiality clause. In 
this clause, the employee agrees to reveal the terms of the settlement only to a select few persons, such as a spouse and an accountant. The rationale offered by the employer is that otherwise, they will face numerous other lawsuits
Trustee and Former Employee Settles Case Against Southside ISD
I previously wrote here about Alma Guzman and how she settled her claims against Southside Independent School District. This is the first time to my knowledge that an employee loses a motion for summary judgment and then reaches a settlement. I wondered how that was possible, especially since it sounded like her evidence for retaliation
Avoid Personal Issues in a Lawsuit
In employment cases, it is very difficult to not take things personally. When a person works for a company for 20 years and then gets fired because s/he comes down with some illness or because a new boss does not like minorities, then it does get personal. I know. But, once the lawsuit is filed
Southside ISD Trustee Loses Trial
Alma Guzman-Estrada worked for Southside Independent School District for 30 years. She was fired. She sued Southside ISD for discrimination and retaliation. Then she was elected to the school board. The former employee, now a school trustee, had her day in court and has now lost. See San Antonio Express News report. The judge
School Trustee Sues Her Former Employer
I wrote about this case previously here. A woman filed an EEOC charge but was then elected to the school board of the employer against whom she had filed. Alma Rosa Guzman-Estrada worked for Southside Independent School District for 30 years when she was fired in 2010. Ms. Guzman-Estrada says she was fired two
City of Selma Settles Retaliation Lawsuit
The City of Selma, Texas has settled a discrimination lawsuit for $37,500. Capt. Jeff Moczygemba sued after he was fired. Capt. Moczygemba was one of the few firefighters to confirm to Human Resource investigators that the Fire Chief, Ric Braun, had made anti-Hispanic comments. Chief Braun had referred to "wetbacks" who used to clean up the
Some Employees Can Settle Wage Claims Privately
Defense lawyers are welcoming the decision in Martin v. Spring Break Productions, LLC, No. 30671 (5th Cir. 6/24/12). The decision, says Mike Maslanka and Russ Cawyer, allows an individual claimant to settle his/her FLSA claim. Until this decision was issued, the most common belief that an individual employee could settle a wage claim only
Hard to Explain Jury Verdicts
Juries do the craziest things, sometimes. In a trial a few years ago in the Rio Grande Valley, a jury returned a verdict following several days of testimony. The verdict said yes, the employer violated anti-discrimination laws. But, the jury said no, the employee did not suffer any lost pay or compensatory damages (emotional suffering).
Consider the Reputation of the Employer’s Lawyer
Dan Schwartz pens an interesitng post at Connecticut Employment Law Blog. He notes that an employer controls the discipline process. The employer decides when or whether to terminate an employee. But, the employer has no control over what lawyer the employee hires. Dan suggests good questions regarding the employee’s lawyer: does the lawyer typically accept