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Texas

Prepare to explain budget reason for job cuts

09/29/2016
If an employee alleges she lost her job during a reduction in force because of discrimination or retaliation, counter that claim by showing there were real economic reasons for letting her go.

Can we require e-pay in Texas?

09/06/2016
Q. Can a Texas employer require its employees to accept payment of wages through an electronic transfer of funds?

If we feed employees, do we have to pay them for working through lunch?

09/06/2016
Q. Occasionally, when we receive a big order, our nonexempt employees are required to work through their lunch breaks. Although we do not pay them for this work, we buy delicious lunches for all the affected workers. Is this lawful?

New rules for recruiting foreign workers

09/06/2016
The Office of Foreign Labor Certification is expected to publish new regulations aiming to modernize the U.S. Department of Labor’s electronic permanent labor certification system.

Ex-employee files race bias complaint against Baylor, Texas, med

09/06/2016
A former employee of Baylor Scott & White Health, which owns hospitals throughout North and Central Texas, is suing the company, alleging that her September 2014 firing was discriminatory.

Contractor in deep hole after repeat trenching violations

09/06/2016
For the sixth time in the last 10 years, Houston-based Oscar Renda Contractors faces OSHA safety violations involving unsafe trenching practices.

Houston tortilla maker flattened by $106k fine

09/06/2016
La Espiga de Oro, a Houston-area tortilla bakery, faces $106,700 in fines for multiple safety violations following an inspection by OSHA investigators who descended on the plant after receiving tips about unsafe working conditions.

Fired ‘team’ member gets $20,000 PDA settlement

09/06/2016
A home health care company called Your Health Team, based in Kaufman, Texas, didn’t show much in the way of teamwork when it fired a home health aide after learning she was pregnant.

Statements to licensing board aren’t retaliation

09/06/2016
Public employees who speak out about matters of public importance are protected from retaliation. But retaliation doesn’t include an employer’s complaint about the employee to a licensing board.

Court: Arbitrators — not judges — should decide validity of arbitration agreements

09/06/2016
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has handed arbitrators the power to decide if arbitration agreements are valid. The appeals court ruled that it was legitimate to ask whether an arbitration agreement applied to an employee’s pre-existing Fair Labor Standards Act claim, but that it was a question best answered not by a judge, but by an arbitrator.