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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.

EEOC alleges race bias at Houston manufacturer

04/12/2017
Downhole Technology, a Houston manufacturer of fracking equipment, faces charges it failed to address a racial discrimination complaint and then retaliated against the employee who complained.

Postage and parking fees do not a lawsuit make

04/12/2017
Sometimes, all an employee has to do to bring a federal lawsuit is pay the filing fee. The result is that employers sometimes have to defend against bogus claims.

Warn supervisors they may be personally liable

04/12/2017
Remind bosses that, along with the organization, they can be personally sued for sexual harassment. Plus, sometimes the employer may be found not liable, but the supervisor is.

Your choice: Keep accurate time records … or let jury decide number of hours worked

04/12/2017
Keep good time records, or expect to fight it out in court if some of your employees allege they weren’t paid for all time worked and are due overtime.

Not sure employee is disabled? Accommodate and wait for clarification

04/12/2017
There’s nothing wrong with accommodating and requesting more information at the same time.

Misclassification can result in double penalty

04/12/2017
Employers that erroneously classify an hourly employee as exempt can expect their mistake to be a costly one. Not only will they have to pay two years’ worth of back overtime, but they’ll probably have to pay double that amount as a penalty for not getting the classification right.

Retirement after FMLA isn’t accommodation

04/12/2017
What happens if an employee wants to retire at the end of leave? That makes a request for more leave unreasonable, according to a recent decision.

High school coach’s suit alleges bias in Beaumont, Texas

04/12/2017
A former teacher and multi-sport coach claims a former principal and assistant superintendent discriminated against him and persistently sought his resignation.

Document all details of disciplinary process

04/12/2017
If HR begins receiving multiple complaints about a supervisor, it may be time to demote or even fire him even if he remains convinced that verbal abuse is appropriate.

Performance falling short? Offer second chance with new boss before terminating

03/22/2017
The employee will have a hard time winning any subsequent lawsuit, since he had an additional chance to prove himself.