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Louisiana

Tell employee that she’s nearing FMLA eligibility

07/15/2015
Employees have to work at least 1,250 hours in the preceding year to be eligible for FMLA leave. If an employee requests leave to deal with a medical issue and is close to achieving that threshold, inform her. Maybe she can wait until she’s covered by the FMLA.

Settlement agreement may not kill OT claims

07/15/2015
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that settling a state court lawsuit over a noncompete agreement (with a payment and an agreement that supposedly included all employment claims) didn’t bar the former employees from suing for unpaid overtime that they claimed was owed to them under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Speaking up at staff meeting generally not protected by the First Amendment

06/24/2015
Public employees have the right to free speech and can’t be punished for exercising it. But that doesn’t mean they can say anything, anywhere. The exercise of free speech must concern a matter of public importance and not be done as part of the employee’s job.

OK to call employee who is on FMLA leave–just keep the conversation short and sweet

06/03/2015

Employees out on FMLA leave are supposed to be freed of their regular work responsibilities. They are on leave, after all. Some supervisors have taken this to mean that they may never call an employee who is out on FMLA leave to discuss work-related matters. That’s not entirely true.

Using slurs at work isn’t ‘free speech’

05/29/2015

Public employees have the right to speak their minds on matters of public importance without punishment. However, that right is clearly limited. A public employee can’t claim that free speech includes the right to use derogatory terms at work.

Don’t sweat legit transfers: Lateral moves OK if they truly don’t affect pay and benefits

05/29/2015

In order to claim that a transfer or a realignment of duties qualifies as an adverse employment action, employees must show that the transfer or job changes were somehow potentially harmful. That’s especially true in the case of job changes that spring from a lateral move across the organization chart, with the same pay and benefits.

Transfer usually not adverse employment action

05/29/2015
It’s illegal to punish employees for engaging in protected activity. But for an employer to be liable, the punishment would have to be significant. Minor changes in an employee’s job aren’t enough.

In Texas, decisions raise bar on waiver of arbitration agreements

05/04/2015
Two recent decisions from the Supreme Court of Texas and the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals are reminders that, under Texas law, it is difficult for employers to waive arbitration agreements.

Public employees do have to follow employers’ decisions

05/04/2015
While public employees typically have greater protections on the job than employees working in the private sector, they don’t have unlimited protection from interference with their jobs.

Sorry, it’s never acceptable to make jokes comparing employees to animals

05/04/2015
If you want to lose a hostile environment lawsuit, go ahead and ignore complaints and let managers act like bigots and racists. A recent case illustrates just how big a mistake tolerating such nonsense can be.