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Employment Law

Disabled Applicants

01/30/2007

HR Law 101: The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination against qualified applicants on the basis of a physical or mental disability. The law allows you to ask about an applicant’s ability to perform a job’s essential functions but not about a specific disability …

Negligent Hiring

01/30/2007

HR Law 101: If you fail to do background checks on applicants for certain positions, you could make yourself vulnerable to a negligent-hiring lawsuit by any worker or customer who’s been hurt by a violent employee. You should check applicants’ backgrounds especially for positions such as day care worker, security guard and sales representative …

English-Only Policies

01/30/2007
HR Law 101: If you’re thinking of establishing an English-only policy for your workplace, be aware that you risk incurring the wrath of the EEOC. The agency is strongly opposed to English-only rules and will prosecute employers that commit this type of national-origin discrimination…

Texas Unemployment Compensation Act

01/15/2007

Texas unemployment compensation law, like that of many other states, provides temporary payments to employees who lose their jobs through no fault of their own. The law is administered by the Texas Workforce Commission …

Texas Workers’ Compensation Act

01/15/2007

The Texas workers’ compensation system is designed to replace the wages of employees who miss work due to on-the-job injuries. The system works as a no-fault guarantee. Employees who can show they were injured while working are entitled to a portion of their earnings and paid medical care for those injuries. They needn’t prove their employer was negligent. In exchange, injured employees can’t sue employers for negligence …

Texas Law on Employment Discrimination for Participating in Emergency Evacuation

01/15/2007

Anyone who has lived through a rough hurricane season in Texas understands the disruption that an emergency evacuation creates. Such evacuations and subsequent returns cause real hardships for employers. But employees who evacuate their homes and jobs are protected from discriminatory employment actions due to the Texas law on Employment Discrimination for Participating in Emergency Evacuation …

Texas Public Information Act

01/15/2007

No specific Texas law allows private-sector employees access to their workplace personnel files, but the Texas Public Information Act does provide that right to public employees …

Texas Payday Act

01/15/2007

The Texas Payday Act seems like it should be simple, but it’s perhaps the most complicated employment law in the state. Full of traps for the unwary, the law can spell big trouble for even innocent mistakes. Plus, it carries a fine of up to $1,000 per violation …

Texas Labor Code Anti-Discrimination Provisions

01/15/2007

Texas employers who abide by the employment discrimination provisions of the federal Civil Rights Act (Title VII) are likely to be safe under the state law, too. That’s because the Texas Labor Code provisions on discrimination are identical to the requirements under Title VII …

Local Discrimination Ordinances in Texas

01/15/2007

Several Texas cities and towns have made it illegal to discriminate in employment (hiring, firing, pay, promotions, etc.) on the basis of an employee or applicant’s sexual orientation …