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Texas

Nip harassing speech in the bud to protect against hostile work environment liability

07/02/2019
Not every sexual comment at work is enough to create a hostile environment. If, for example, the target of harassing speech complains and the employer steps up to stop further comments, there are no grounds for a lawsuit. Here’s how that played out in a recent case.

Employee complaint about intimidation is your call to action: Investigate immediately!

07/02/2019
Employers are making a mistake if they don’t immediately take action when a worker complains about intimidation and implied threats. While all complaints should be taken seriously, some require more immediate action and solutions.

Beware snarky anti-nationality comments

07/02/2019
When supervisors make snide comments about an employee’s ethnicity and then demote or otherwise change that employee’s working conditions, those comments may be considered evidence of bias.

EEOC: Restaurant owner harassed teen employees

07/02/2019
The EEOC is suing Tosca Americana Italian Kitchen, a restaurant in the Houston suburb of Atascocita, alleging one of its owners regularly harassed female employees, some of whom were underage.

Quick response is a lifesaver in harassment cases

06/20/2019
Remind supervisors to react immediately to harassment complaints, at least by notifying HR.

Any risk of not reducing demoted worker’s pay?

06/10/2019
Q. We moved a salaried supervisor to a rank-and-file hourly position, but we left him at the higher salary. Now, several co-workers are complaining that they’re being paid less for the same job and grumbling about discrimination. The co-workers are of different nationalities than the former supervisor. Should we raise the co-workers’ salaries if we want to be as cautious as possible to avoid a lawsuit?

Texas ‘gig’ workers soon ineligible for unemployment comp

06/10/2019
It’s a hot legal issue: What are workers who utilize online digital platforms to obtain business and deliver services to third parties? Are they employees or independent contractors? Some federal agencies have already weighed in. Now Texas may be reducing some uncertainty, at least where unemployment benefits are concerned.

Fort Worth firm pays $85,000 to settle age bias complaint

06/10/2019
Atlas Energy in Fort Worth has agreed to pay a former production foreman $85,000 to settle an age discrimination lawsuit.

$22,000: Cost of failing to provide space to pump milk

06/10/2019
The Affordable Care Act amended the Fair Labor Standards Act to require employers to provide nursing mothers a clean, private place (that is not a restroom) to express milk. Allegiance Behavioral Health Center, located in Plainview, Texas, apparently didn’t understand that.

Document promotion process to show you chose the best

06/10/2019
Employers that follow their own rules and maintain accurate and complete records of their promotion decisions generally win failure-to-promote cases.