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Texas

Get rid of bad apples! Act fast to fire worker who won’t stop slurs despite warnings

10/02/2013
What should you do when an employee keeps spouting offensive racial slurs despite repeated warnings to stop? Fire her before she says or does something that leads to a lawsuit.

Be alert for hidden–or overt–bias when hiring manager rejects qualified candidate

10/02/2013
Do some of your supervisors gripe about having to follow anti-discrimination laws? Rein them in. Otherwise, you’ll wind up in court if a job candidate gets rejected for obviously illegal reasons.

Even if not job-related, consider granting easy disability accommodations

10/02/2013
Some accommodations requests aren’t directly related to the disabled employee’s job functions. Take, for example, simple accommodations like changing arrival and departure times so a disabled employee can take a specific bus or providing a reserved parking spot next to the entrance. Those accommodations fall within the scope of the ADA.

Don’t let EEOC complaint derail planned firing

10/02/2013
Employees sometimes believe they can stop a pending termination merely by filing an EEOC complaint. The implied threat: That they’ll sue for retaliation if they do, in fact, get fired. That won’t work if the employer can show it would have fired the employee anyway.

Is ‘doesn’t play well with others’ a disability?

10/02/2013
Some employees are completely unable to get along with others. Sometimes, psychological problems may be at the heart of the trouble and the employee may claim she has a disability that must be reasonably accommodated. Employers don’t have to create jobs as an accommodation, making the only possible option termination.

Decision could open door for out-of-court FLSA settlements

08/26/2013

Most federal district courts routinely hold that out-of-court settlement agreements, to the extent that they purport to waive FLSA claims, are unenforceable. That has made it difficult and expensive for employers to resolve pay issues, even when they realize they made a mistake and want to compensate the employee fairly. Last year, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals took a more pragmatic ap­­proach in Martin v. Spring Break ’83 Productions.

Dallas firm beats EEOC in background check case

08/26/2013
Dallas-based trade show and convention management firm Freeman has beaten back an EEOC lawsuit that challenged the firm’s use of criminal background checks in hiring. The EEOC sued in 2009, claiming Free­­man’s criminal background checks had a disparate impact on blacks, Hispanics and men.

New Texas law limits employer hiring liability

08/26/2013
In an attempt to encourage em­­ployers to hire workers with criminal backgrounds, the Texas Legislature passed H.B. 1188 limiting employer exposure to negligent hiring lawsuits.

Balance the pluses and minuses of switching to PTO banks

08/26/2013
Some employers have retooled the traditional method of setting paid time off in separate categories by folding vacation, personal or sick leave entitlements into one “bank.”  So-called paid time off (PTO) programs offer benefits for employers and employees alike, but there are some potential pitfalls if you are not careful.

Overwork, rudeness don’t create hostile environment

08/26/2013
Workers who are more sensitive than others can’t sue, alleging a hostile work environment, unless conditions are truly terrible. They simply have to tolerate the occasional un­­kind comment and other ordinary workplace annoyances.