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Texas

Employee works despite FMLA leave? That’s not your fault–nor FMLA interference

07/03/2012

When employees need intermittent FMLA leave, they are entitled to take time off free from work responsibilities. Of course, that may leave some tasks undone. Some employees, especially those in management positions, may feel obliged to work additional hours, or may sometimes forgo taking leave. As long as there’s no employer pressure to get the work done, that extra work won’t support an FMLA-interference lawsuit.

Feel free to make routine shift changes–courts won’t consider that evidence of retaliation

07/03/2012

Generally, employees claiming they suffered retaliation after engaging in protected activity—such as complaining about discrimination or taking protected FMLA leave—must show that the retaliation would have dissuaded a reasonable employee from complaining or taking leave. The hypothetical reasonable employee standard isn’t very specific.

Texas EEOC complaints up for second straight year

07/03/2012
Texas employees are doing more than their share to keep the EEOC busy, filing more discrimination charges per capita than the national average.

High court’s health care ruling: Full speed ahead for HR

07/03/2012
The Supreme Court’s June decision to uphold the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act health care re­­form law means a long compliance to-do list for HR professionals.

Don’t sweat minor compensation differences

07/03/2012
Ever since enactment of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2009, pay equity has been a hot employment law topic. In the intervening years, many employers have proactively gone over their pay scales and made adjustments after discovering apparent pay inequalities that crept in over the years.

Track discipline for equitable punishment

06/08/2012

If you had to, could you quickly produce records showing that every employee who broke the same rule received the same punishment? Would you be able to readily explain any deviations? If you hesitated when answering these questions, it’s time for action.

Can we require employees to use direct deposit?

05/30/2012

Q. Can a Texas employer require employees to accept payment of wages through an electronic transfer of funds?

EEOC’s new guidance on criminal background checks

05/30/2012
Earlier this year, the EEOC issued up­­dated guidance on how employers should use arrest and con­­viction records when making hiring decisions. If you use criminal background checks to screen applicants and employees, this affects you! Fact: Checks that were once routine are now under the gun.

Reporter fired for stripping files EEOC discrimination suit

05/30/2012
A former Houston Chronicle reporter has filed a sex discrimination complaint against the newspaper claiming she was illegally fired for failing to inform her bosses that she was moonlighting—as a stripper.

30 great interview questions to identify candidates’ soft skills

05/30/2012
One of the best ways to tell if applicants have the skills to perform specific tasks is to directly ask how they’ve used those skills in the past. These sample questions can help hiring managers spot 10 important “soft” skills: