• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly
Connection failed: SQLSTATE[HY000] [2002] No such file or directory

Texas

Employee pushing envelope on HR policies? Maybe he’s not best for job with lots of rules

12/01/2010

Have you had an employee who always tries to see how far he can stretch workplace rules? You know the type—he takes all breaks, arrives just before he’s technically late and never volunteers for the tough tasks. That guy might not be the best choice to promote into a job that requires following strict rules.

Arbitration agreements are contracts! Keep them out of employee handbooks

12/01/2010
The Supreme Court of Texas has just ruled that arbitration agreements are legally valid and enforceable as long as they are stand-alone contracts—and not part of an overall employment manual.

Candidate extra-qualified? Make a note of it

12/01/2010
Sometimes, a candidate stands out as a great potential hire. Whatever it is that signals this is a good hire, make sure you note it in your interview documentation. Otherwise, it may be hard to justify the decision if another applicant who met the basic job requirements sues and alleges some form of discrimination.

Warn bosses: No remarks about employee age

12/01/2010

Don’t panic if you find out that a supervisor has made age-related comments. Instead, use the incident as a teaching moment. Instruct all managers and supervisors that they should view negative comments about age the same way they view comments based on sex, race, disability and other protected classification stereotyping.

Can we fire an employee for refusing to take a lie detector test?

11/15/2010
Q. One of our employees filed a sexual harassment complaint against another worker. After interviewing both parties, we are unable to resolve the credibility conflict. We asked the accused co-worker to take a polygraph exam, but he refused. Can we fire the employee for refusing to take the lie detector test?

The best defense against bias lawsuits: Equal treatment for all your employees

11/15/2010
An employee who thinks her supervisor is out to get her may be on the lookout for perceived discrimination. She can turn a negative performance appraisal into a bias lawsuit. The only way to prepare for surprise lawsuits is to consistently treat all employees alike and document that fair treatment. For example, performance evaluations should include as many objective measures as possible, making it easier to compare employees.

Baytown falls victim to growing age bias lawsuit trend

11/15/2010
Former Baytown municipal employee Richard Hensley is suing the city, arguing that a negative performance appraisal he received reflects a pattern of discrimination against older workers. The lawsuit argues that the city of Baytown routinely replaces older employees with younger, unqualified replacements.

How to Collect Employee Medical Info Under New FMLA Rules

11/10/2010
Login Email Address Password I forgot my password To continue reading this page, become an HR Specialist Premium Plus member today! Your subscription includes: Ask the Attorney: Answers to your HR legal questions Compliance Guidance: Access to 7,000 HR news articles, updated daily, sorted by state State-by-State: Summaries of HR laws in all 50 states […]

What’s the Texas law on voting leave?

11/01/2010
Q. We have had a hard time determining whether we must allow employees to miss work so they can vote? So this isn’t a problem in 2012, what rules must we follow?

What kind of information are we required to give participants in our health insurance plan?

11/01/2010
Q. We just received a letter from an employee who has requested a copy of our medical plan. Are we required to provide this information to her?