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Texas

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.

Legitimate discipline isn’t retaliation

09/06/2016
Some managers fear disciplining a worker who has complained about discrimination or other allegedly illegal conduct. Quite reasonably, they worry that punishing an employee after he or she complains may precipitate a retaliation claim.

Relax! Your arbitration agreement is likely valid

09/04/2016
As long as you get expert legal help creating a valid arbitration agreement, Texas courts will probably enforce it.

Is comp time in lieu of overtime legal?

08/11/2016
Q. We have a team of nonexempt hourly employees who will soon be putting in significant overtime for an important project. May we compensate them for their overtime work with additional paid vacation time equal to the total accrued overtime?

Do we have leave obligations to help a potential victim of domestic violence?

08/11/2016
Q. One of our employees may be a victim of family violence. What are our legal obligations to provide leave for family violence victims under Texas and federal law?

National origin bias: Heed new EEOC rules, increased enforcement

08/11/2016
In June, the EEOC proposed new regulations concerning Title VII’s national origin provisions. National origin discrimination complaints comprise about 11% of the charges the EEOC receives each year. The new proposed EEOC regulations target job segregation, human trafficking and intersectional discrimination.

Deal with health care cyber-attacks, data security & government audits

08/11/2016

The costs involved are growing … but the consequences of not spending are brutal.