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Texas

Age-related comment doesn’t always show bias

08/11/2016
If you learn a manager made an age-related comment, don’t panic. Context is everything.  An obvious discriminatory statement— “I am terminating you because you are old”—is one thing. However, a general comment—for example, about the advantages of accepting a retirement package as an older employee—probably isn’t biased.

Beware extra deductions from tip credits

08/11/2016

Employers are allowed to pay tipped employees less than minimum wage and take a credit for the difference through their tips. With minimum wage set at $7.25, employers may pay $2.13 per hour as long as tips make up the difference (or more). But can the employer deduct from the credit costs associated with credit card processing and calculating, cashing out and distributing the money?

Ensure lack of clarity doesn’t cause liability

08/11/2016
Rules that are unclear, vague or poorly worded can spell trouble if they end up being applied differently to some employees and not others. That’s one reason you should pay careful attention to the language in your policies.

Mission to Venus: OSHA probe finds multiple violations

08/11/2016

OSHA inspectors staging a spot inspection at K-T Galvanizing Co. in the Dallas-Fort Worth-area town of Venus found 13 serious violations of workplace safety and health regulations.

DOT safety certification trumps ADA protection

08/11/2016

Some jobs require special government physical certifications as a pre-requisite to employment. These are generally designed to make sure the employee can safely perform a job that might otherwise put the public, or the employee, at risk of harm. What happens if such an employee becomes disabled?

Meet with applicant to discuss convictions

08/10/2016

Many Americans have criminal records. The EEOC and local government agencies want to help former convicts start over. The movement to “ban the box” on job applications—the box those with criminal histories are supposed to check—is part of that trend. So is the EEOC’s position that barring applicants with criminal records from employment may amount to discrimination based on race or ethnicity. Employers that refuse to consider any applicant who has a criminal record risk litigation.

Government employees don’t check their Constitutional rights at the workplace door

07/15/2016
Public employees don’t lose their First Amendment free speech rights when they take a government job. Their employer can’t punish them for speaking out on matters of public importance.

Document performance problems even if they are not serious enough to warrant discipline

07/13/2016

Sometimes, an employee’s performance problems may not seem serious enough to warrant a formal performance improvement plan. However, you should be sure to document the problems anyway. Those records will be useful if you later have to terminate someone for economic reasons.

Three investigation lessons learned from a political controversy

07/06/2016
Another day, another political scandal involving a politician accused of having an extramarital affair. Consider the recently exposed allegedly improper relationship between Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley and a top female aide.

Lubbock settles suit alleging police hiring bias

07/06/2016
The city of Lubbock has settled a U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit alleging that written and physical exams for Lubbock police jobs discriminated against Hispanic and female applicants.