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Texas

Austin fire department prevails in gender bias lawsuit

06/07/2010
Following two days of deliberation, a Travis County jury has ruled against an Austin firefighter who accused the Austin Fire Department of discrimination.

How should we handle tip calculations that factor out credit card fees?

06/02/2010
Q. Our employees receive tips, and we take advantage of the tip credit toward the minimum wage. In the past, we have paid employees the full tip amount on credit card charges, even though we have to pay a percentage fee to the credit card company. It doesn’t seem fair that we should have to pay money that we don’t really receive. How may we resolve this fairly and legally?

When commuting time varies, do we have to pay for trips in excess of ‘normal’?

06/02/2010
Q. Our maintenance employees drive company vehicles and keep them overnight. The employees are responsible for servicing a number of stores. Some days, they report to our warehouse to pick up parts before going to their first location. On other days, they report directly to a work site … Do we have to pay them for any time in excess of their normal commuting time to the warehouse?

If we fire dishonest employee, can he collect unemployment comp and vacation pay?

06/02/2010
Q. We have an employee who recently submitted an expense report for more than $1,300 for an extended business trip. We accidentally reimbursed him twice. He did not report the double payment and we did not learn of the mistake until an internal audit two months later. Our company policy prohibits dishonesty and we want to fire the worker for violating this rule. Will he be able to collect unemployment benefits? May we withhold the vacation pay that is due to him under our policy, which would just about make us whole?

Consider shift change as reasonable disability accommodation

06/02/2010

A federal court has held that, under certain circumstances, the ADA may obligate an employer to accommodate an employee’s disability-related difficulties in getting to work. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that changing a part-time employee’s schedule to day shift—because her poor vision made it dangerous for her to drive at night—could be a reasonable accommodation under the ADA.

Houston company settles EEOC religious bias case

06/02/2010

A Houston-area construction company will pay $122,500 to settle a lawsuit that alleged a Muslim employee had to endure religious and national-origin discrimination. The EEOC backed the lawsuit against Pace Services, filed by Mohammad Kaleemuddin.

Employee blames company, boss for stillborn son

06/02/2010
Natalie Schroeder was seven months into a high-risk twin pregnancy when she missed a doctor’s appointment. Her boss at Advanced Neuromodulation Systems in Plano told her she had to finish a report before she could leave. Three days later she went into labor and delivered a healthy girl—and a stillborn son. Now she is suing.

Intermittent FMLA leave may open accommodation door

06/02/2010

If you approve intermittent FMLA leave for an employee’s serious health condition, you’ll have a tough time arguing later that the employee’s disability means he’s unable to perform the essential functions of his job. That’s because you’ve already shown that periodic absences didn’t interfere with running the business.

Train interviewers to disregard apparent disability

06/02/2010
Employers aren’t supposed to ask about disabilities unless applicants bring them up. That’s to protect disabled applicants from preconceived notions about disability. But ignoring disabilities serves another function: Interviewers can later testify that company policy requires them to consider only qualifications.

Retaliation: Don’t sweat link between complaint and firing, if you would have fired anyway

06/02/2010

You may be worrying too much about firing an employee right after she files a discrimination complaint! If you can easily show that you would have fired her regardless of her complaint, a court is unlikely to connect her complaint with your decision. And in Texas, timing alone isn’t enough to prove the firing was retaliation.