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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.

Promoting or hiring? Be sure to document why your choice is best

12/15/2022
Whenever you’re hiring or promoting from within and choosing from several candidates, someone is going to be disappointed. And that means there’s the potential for legal trouble if you don’t make sure your process was lawsuit-proof.

Lactation breaks may cause resentment

11/01/2022
The right to unlimited lactation breaks can create scheduling headaches as co-workers and supervisors scramble to ensure coverage. Some co-workers may even express resentment. Fortunately, a recent federal appeals case doesn’t hold employers responsible for this.

EEOC takes on Chili’s in teen worker case

09/29/2022
Two recently filed lawsuits against Chili’s restaurants demonstrate the EEOC’s commitment to new workers.

Periodically monitor remote workplaces

08/18/2022
If you have scattered workplaces, be sure to regularly check to make sure they’re not hotspots for problems like sexual or racial harassment. This is especially true for sites that may still embrace a “boys will be boys” attitude—and where front-line supervisors may turn a blind eye to unacceptable and illegal behavior.

They didn’t seriously argue that, did they? Only male cops get weekends off?

08/18/2022
A federal appeals court has upheld a policy that looks like blatant sex discrimination.

Supreme Court upholds USERRA protections

07/07/2022
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that states and other government employers can be sued under a federal law that protects employees who are serving or have served in the military from discrimination.

Supreme Court to hear FLSA case this fall

05/12/2022
When the Supreme Court considers an upcoming employment law case this fall, the outcome may rest on how narrowly Congress drafted the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Beware medical inquiries before making job offer

03/24/2022
When hiring, asking the wrong question can be an expensive mistake. In one recent case, a worker who wasn’t even looking for a job walked away with a $75,000 payday because of a prospective employer’s ill-conceived question.

New tipped-worker 30-minute rule challenged

03/03/2022
The Restaurant Law Center has sued the DOL to reverse a new rule requiring tipped workers who spend more than 30 consecutive minutes performing nontipped tasks to receive the full minimum wage for time exceeding 30 minutes.

DOL: That guy you just fired might be a whistleblower

02/24/2022
OSHA has a litigation unit devoted solely to enforcing 20 different whistleblower laws that fall under the Department of Labor’s jurisdiction. Here’s an example of the kind of case this unit handles.