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Texas

Arlington firm owes $53K in overtime wages

10/05/2012
Arlington-based Espitia Cleaning Inc. agreed to pay $53,095 in back wages to 130 current and former janitors following a U.S. Department of Labor investigation.

Retaliation suit costs construction company $38,500

10/05/2012
MKB Construction has settled charges it retaliated against an employee in El Paso after he complained of sexual harassment on the job.

Employee handbooks: Avoid the 12 most common, costly mistakes

10/05/2012
Employment law attorneys point to a dozen common employee handbook mistakes that cause employers their biggest headaches. If you want to make a plaintiff’s attorney salivate, show him or her an employee handbook that involves any of these issues:

Good-faith complaint required for retaliation to be possible

10/05/2012
Employees who complain about alleged discrimination are protected from retaliation—up to a point. Frivolous complaints don’t count.

Prompt cleanup, spot inspections are the keys to curing racially hostile environment

10/05/2012

Employers that adopt a proactive approach to stopping and preventing future racial hostility at work are best positioned to win hostile work environment lawsuits. Ignoring obvious signs of workplace trouble won’t make it go away and will only encourage further harassment.

If doctor’s note is unclear, insist on a properly completed FMLA certification form

10/05/2012
Some employees and their treating doctors seem to believe that as long as a medical professional says an employee can’t work, that’s enough to justify FMLA leave. That’s not true.

Employee makes outrageously bigoted comment? Treat that as an offense worthy of firing

10/05/2012
Here’s a cautionary tale about tolerating a racially hostile comment, yet then agreeing that the comment was outrageous. Employers can’t have it both ways. Either the comment was grounds for discharge or it wasn’t really that severe.

FLSA violations cost Houston restaurant $126,000

10/05/2012
Houston’s Ocean Palace Restaurant settled a “palace revolt” of sorts by paying the princely sum of $125,763 in back wages to 61 current and former kitchen and wait staff, cashiers, hostesses, runners, cart pushers, busboys and dishwashers.

Reality–not labels–determines worker status

10/05/2012
Under the FLSA, it’s not the job title or even some understanding between the employer and worker that matters, but business reality. If an employer controls how the job is done, chances are the worker is an employee covered by the FLSA and not an independent contractor.

Ledbetter law doesn’t apply to state pay claims

10/05/2012
Under the federal Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009, employees who believe their paychecks reflect a discriminatory pay decision made years or even decades ago can still sue. But that principle doesn’t apply if an employee pursues a state pay discrimination claim under the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act.