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Texas

Court ruling may discourage jobs for the financially troubled

09/01/2006

A new ruling by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals (which includes Texas) may encourage people who file Chapter 7 bankruptcy to remain unemployed until the court finalizes their bankruptcy …

Texas: No. 2 destination for illegal immigrants

09/01/2006

A new report from the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Immigration Statistics says Texas is the second most popular destination for illegal migration. Only California is home to more illegal workers and residents. Florida rounds out the top three spots …

Employee blogs raise privacy, confidentiality issues for employers

09/01/2006

Most organizations have comprehensive Internet, e-mail and electronic communications policies that spell out what’s acceptable usage and what’s not. But few employers have addressed a growing problem: the proliferation of employee Web logs, or "blogs" …

Does FMLA cover leave after relative dies?

09/01/2006

Q. One of my employees has been out on FMLA leave for seven weeks taking care of his sick father in another state. The leave was approved for a full 12 weeks. I received a voice mail from him saying that his father died. He also said that he had to clear up a lot of things with his father’s estate, but that he would be back by the end of his scheduled leave. Can he do that or can I tell him he needs to come back sooner? —V.S.

Are mandatory arbitration agreements legal?

09/01/2006

Q. We require, as a condition of employment, that our employees agree to resolve all disputes by binding arbitration, rather than going to court. One of my friends said a lot of the government agencies don’t like those kinds of arbitration policies and one agency even decided that they were illegal. I know lots of employers have binding arbitration, so I don’t think that could be right, but thought I better check. —S.T.

How to pay employee called in during PTO leave

09/01/2006

Q. We have a nonexempt salaried employee who normally works Monday to Friday and is paid biweekly. She took a week’s vacation, which would come from her PTO (paid time off) bank. We had a customer emergency and called her into work on the Saturday of her vacation week. How should she be paid? Should she receive her PTO pay but have eight hours less of it charged against her PTO bank? Should she be paid for eight extra hours, plus her week of PTO pay? If we pay her both PTO and eight extra hours, do we have to pay her overtime? —W.M.

Employer not liable for acts by independent security staff

08/01/2006

If your organization contracts out security services, the Texas Supreme Court has just handed you a substantial victory that makes it less likely you’ll be liable if your independent-contractor security guard injures someone …

When punishing employees’ use of slurs, equality counts

08/01/2006

The mantra in real estate is "location, location, location." But the mantra in employee discipline must always be "consistency, consistency, consistency" …

Firing employee on workers’ comp may be legal

08/01/2006

Texas law makes it illegal to fire an employee in retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim. But that doesn’t mean employees are untouchable just because they’re out on workers’ comp. You can legally discharge injured workers under a reasonable absence-control policy that applies to all employees, regardless of how they were injured or became ill …

You can’t push contract-Breach case to federal court

08/01/2006

If you’re a Texas employer that agrees to settle an on-the-job injury case out of court, be prepared to follow through. If you don’t, you just may find your organization in a less favorable Texas court defending itself against breach-of-contract claims. And that can mean a big, fat award from an angry Texas jury …