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Employment Law

Minimum wage increase bill stalls in preliminary Senate vote

05/06/2014
Legislation that would have gradually raised the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour failed to earn enough votes to clear a procedural hurdle on April 30, but Senate Democrats vowed to keep the issue front and center in the run-up to November’s midterm elections.

Is ‘stress’ an FMLA serious condition?

05/01/2014
Q. One of our employees is complaining of “stress and anxiety.” Is that enough to put us on notice of a serious health condition under the FMLA?

Is the government moving to address restrictions on employee discussion of wages?

05/01/2014
Q. We heard that the president recently took action on whether employees are permitted to discuss compensation. Are there any new requirements on employers with regard to these kinds of conversations?

Texas town loses final appeal on immigration statute

05/01/2014
The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear appeals of rulings that declared two of the nation’s most far-reaching anti-­immigrant statutes unconstitutional. The towns of Farmer’s Branch, Texas, and Hazleton, Pa., had adopted ordinances punishing landlords who rented to “illegal immigrants.” The Hazle­­ton ordinance also targeted employers that hired illegals.

McAllen, TX moves to put harassment case behind it

05/01/2014
The city of McAllen seems to be turning a page with the departure of an assistant city manager. The official had previously filed a sexual harassment complaint against a former city manager who retired in March.

AA Foundry drops appeal of EEOC harassment case

05/01/2014
A San Antonio ironworks has decided to drop its two-year-old fight with the EEOC over allegations that it harassed black workers.

Never link absences to employee’s disabled relative

05/01/2014
Here’s an easy way to avoid unnecessary litigation: If you are disciplining an employee for missing too much work, don’t tie absences to a disabled relative’s condition. If you do, you may end up losing an association discrimination case.

Don’t try to recoup overpayments in FLSA suit

05/01/2014
Some employers end up overpaying for time worked when, for example, employees continue to draw a paycheck while home on some sort of leave. But if you happen to face an FLSA lawsuit over unpaid overtime, don’t expect the court to let you credit those overpayments when it’s time to compensate unpaid overtime hours.

Court rules: Texas state employees can’t sue over ‘self-care’ under the FMLA

05/01/2014

A federal court has concluded that Texas state employees who take FMLA leave for their own serious health conditions can’t later sue their state agency over that leave. That’s because Texas has sovereign immunity from such claims.

Key to maintaining contractor status: Don’t exert too much control over the work

05/01/2014
There’s a fine line between spelling out expectations and unduly controlling exactly how contractors and subcontractors do their jobs. If you use too heavy a hand, those workers you consider to be independent contractors can morph into employees. And that can mean expensive litigation.