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Employment Law

No do-overs for employee who files serial suits

02/18/2015
An employee who loses a lawsuit over her termination can’t revive the litigation a second time just by coming up with a second claim that could have been raised earlier.

Simple transfer could be considered retaliation

02/17/2015

Ordinarily, retaliation re­quires a so-called adverse employment action, such as discharge or demotion. Lesser actions, such as a lateral transfer, don’t count. That is, unless that transfer carries with it serious consequences—such as a dramatically longer commute.

Target shoots self in foot with leaked HR document

02/17/2015
The website Gawker.com has published yet another embarrassing internal document from retail giant Target’s HR shop. This one, leaked by employees, instructs managers on how to talk to the four generations working in Target stores: veterans, baby boomers, generation X and generation Y. What could possibly go wrong? Plenty.

BLS report: Union membership continues its slow decline

02/16/2015
The percentage of U.S. workers who belong to a labor union fell again in 2014, dropping to 11.1%, down 0.2 percentage points from 2013.

It’s impossible to be biased against unknown disability

02/13/2015
Employees with hidden disabilities must notify their employers if they want ADA protection.

Allergic worker or boss’s dog: Who needs to go?

02/11/2015
Q. Our owner brings her dog to work every day. We have a new employee that just found out—due to health-related issues—that she is allergic to the dog. The owner said she won’t terminate the employee, but the employee needs to decide whether she wants to stay or not, because the dog is not going anywhere …

Can we require owner-employees of a business we’re buying to sign noncompete agreements?

02/10/2015
Q. My company is in the process of purchasing a small printing business, and we plan to retain several of the owner-employees of the acquired business. As a part of the purchase-and-sale agreement, we would like to take steps to protect our customer base by restricting the competitive activities of the owner-employees for five years. Additionally, we are interested in restricting the activities of an employee who is not a party to the transaction, but is married to one of the owners of the business. May we do so? What are some basics about noncompete agreements?

Texas ADA payouts nearly doubled over past five years

02/10/2015
A recent study of EEOC ADA en­­force­­ment actions has revealed that Texas employers paid out $9.7 million to employees in 2013. That’s up sharply from $5.4 million in 2009.

Houston bakery sued for refusing to hire non-Hispanics

02/10/2015
The EEOC alleges that Houston-based Lawler Foods violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by carrying out a pattern and practice of refusing to hire non-Hispanic applicants.

Beware slow-to-emerge need for accommodation

02/10/2015
Can you reject an applicant you previously agreed to hire because you discover a disability you don’t think you can accommodate? Maybe—but expect a court fight.