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Texas

Texas court issues injunction preventing customer poaching

09/09/2015
A federal court in Texas has issued an injunction preventing a former salesperson for a plastics company from soliciting customers on behalf of his new employer. The competitor had hired the employee despite a nondisclosure and nonsolicitation agreement he had signed.

Trying to ensure pay equality? Be sure to account for even slight differences in duties

09/09/2015

Under the Equal Pay Act, workers of one sex who perform substantially similar jobs are entitled to the same pay as their counterparts of the opposite sex. But it doesn’t take much to make jobs dissimilar enough to thwart direct comparisons. Keep this in mind when preparing job descriptions and explaining pay differences.

It’s sometimes OK to fire disabled employee, but it’s a mistake to cite medical costs

09/09/2015
Before terminating someone who is disabled, make sure that you don’t inadvertently create a reason for them to sue you.

Dallas doctors’ service to pay for CEO’s harassment

09/09/2015
Dallas-based physician outsourcing group EmCare will pay dearly for its CEO’s raunchy behavior. Following a jury verdict awarding $499,000 to three former employees for sexual harassment, the federal judge in charge of the case has ordered the firm to pay an additional $183,000 in attorneys’ fees to the lead plaintiff in the case.

Texas places second in U.S. for private-sector job growth

09/09/2015
July was a good month for job creation in Texas, according to the ADP Regional Employment Report.

OSHA protects accounting whistle-blowers

09/09/2015

Under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, commonly known as SOX, employees who report alleged accounting irregularities internally and to OSHA are protected from retaliation if their employer punishes the activity. Making simple statements that aren’t very specific can be enough to meet the employee’s reporting requirement under the law. It’s enough that the employee reasonably believes that he is reporting wrongdoing. He doesn’t have to know the details, just that it probably violates the law.

Don’t let pettiness fuel years of litigation

09/09/2015
Here’s an important lesson to impart to supervisors and managers: Petty fights and anger over perceived injustices that lead to resignations or termination may spur multiyear litigation and cost hundreds of thousands in legal fees, lost time and damage awards.

Use Deflategate’s lessons to get a grip on investigations

08/13/2015
The issues raised by this NFL controversy provide great lessons for those tasked with conducting an investigation in the workplace.

What are the ‘off-the-clock work’ trouble spots?

07/30/2015
Q. Some of my employees have been griping that a portion of their job duties involves “off-the-clock” work. What are the rules regarding off-the-clock work, and what are some examples?

When can we search employees’ lockers?

07/29/2015
Q. An alarming amount of cash and inventory has gone missing from my retail store. I have also smelled odor of illegal drugs in the store. Am I authorized to search employees’ lockers for cash, inventory and drugs?