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Texas

Employment Lawyer Network:
Texas

Michael W. Fox (Editor)

Texas Employment Law

Michael.Fox@OgletreeDeakins.com
(512) 344-4711

Click for Full Bio

Michael W. Fox, Esq., of Ogletree Deakins in Austin, has more than 30 years of experience representing employers. He has been Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization since 1980 and is a Fellow in the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. He has been regularly listed in the Best Lawyers in America in Labor and Employment Law, as a Texas Monthly ’Super Lawyer’ in employment litigation.

Equal Pay Act: Better explain any unequal pay

12/04/2018
Watch out when offering a new hire more money than someone currently holding the same job. If the incumbent is of the opposite sex, you had better have solid documentation explaining exactly why the newcomer deserved more money.

Yes, minorities are capable of discrimination

12/04/2018
Discrimination isn’t always about a majority group disfavoring a member of a minority group. Sometimes, that scenario is reversed. And other times, one minority member may favor members of her own minority over another minority.

Cuellar’s aide claims she was fired for being pregnant

12/04/2018
A former aide to Texas Rep. Henry Cuellar claims the congressman violated the Pregnancy Discrimination Act when he terminated her during the third trimester of her pregnancy.

One year later, what employers can do to address #MeToo

11/13/2018
#MeToo and concern over sexual harassment in the workplace continues to be a hot topic. To protect your organization, consider taking these actions.

Minor benefits discrepancies can trigger EPA lawsuit

11/13/2018
Make sure all employees receive the same benefits if they perform jobs re­­­quiring the same skill, effort and respon­­­sibility. If men and women doing comparable work are treated differently, that may be an Equal Pay Act violation.

Anti-discrimination laws protect contractors, too

11/13/2018
Employers that use independent contractors must make sure their assignments aren’t racially discriminatory.

Double-check date of EEOC complaints: Employees have just 300 days to file

11/13/2018
Workers often start the litigation process on their own by filing a complaint with the EEOC. Carefully check the date on every EEOC complaint form to see if it’s possible to get a case tossed out because it wasn’t filed in time.

Feel free to consider past discipline when rehiring staff you previously laid off

11/13/2018
When workers apply for other, open positions that they’re at least marginally qualified for, their past disciplinary history may be a good reason to not rehire them.

ADA: Permanent part-time work not reasonable

11/13/2018
Employers aren’t required to create new positions as reasonable accommodations for disabled workers, or farm out so much work to co-workers that the job becomes part-time.

Choose the best candidate, don’t sweat liability

11/13/2018
When you have several excellent candidates for the same position, it can be difficult to pick which one should get the offer. As long as you document why you picked one of the qualified candidates over the others, chances are you won’t lose a lawsuit.