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Employment Law

Fired after cancer diagnosis, Nacogdoches bus driver sues

11/01/2010
A former school bus driver is suing the Nacogdoches Independent School District, arguing she was fired because of a dire medical condition. She accuses the school district of firing her for exercising her right to medical leave due to a serious health condition under the FMLA. The suit also alleges disability discrimination, race discrimination, retaliation, breach of contract and violations of the Texas Labor Code.

It’s time to review and revise your employee handbook

11/01/2010

Make this your New Year’s resolution: Go through your employee handbook to make sure all the information is accurate and up-to-date, reflects how your organization really does business and fully complies with the law. It’s important to regularly review and revise employee handbooks because having an out-of-date handbook may be more dangerous than not having one at all.

Fired employee suing? Find out if he’s filed for bankruptcy

11/01/2010

Terminated employees sometimes have to file for bankruptcy. Sometimes they sue former employers, too. In that case, they’re required to inform the bankruptcy court about their pending lawsuit. If you lose a lawsuit, have your attorney find out whether the former employee has filed for bankruptcy. You may find that you have a “get out of jail free” card.

You can require ability to speak second language

11/01/2010
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has refused to expand the right to sue to individuals who don’t speak a second language. That leaves employers free to require second-language skills for some jobs.

Court upholds validity of employment agreement that required binding arbitration

11/01/2010
A state appeals court has dismissed an employment discrimination case because the parties had signed an agreement that required disputes go to binding arbitration rather than court.

No contract with employees? Feel free to change terms of employment

11/01/2010

Employers that don’t require employees to sign employment contracts are free to change the terms of employment anytime they want. By staying on the job, employees legally accept the new terms and become bound by them. That’s true even if they continue working under protest. Their only remedy would be to quit and sue over the change.

5th Cir. Court of Appeals rejects DOL interpretation of guest worker minimum-wage requirement

11/01/2010
In a sign that some courts are flexing their muscles and resisting attempts by the U.S. Department of Labor to crack down on employers, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected an effort to force employers to cover more guest worker costs.

East Texas nursing home gets a pregnancy checkup

11/01/2010

The EEOC has sued an East Texas health care company for firing a housekeeper after learning she was pregnant. The federal agency sued Murphy Healthcare, which operates Frankston Healthcare Center, for firing Myesha Kerr, allegedly because it was concerned that she would be required to perform heavy lifting and be exposed to toxic chemicals.

If reorg cuts jobs, check for inadvertent bias

11/01/2010

Is your organization planning big changes that could result in layoffs? You may have no choice. But a poorly planned and implemented layoff can cost more than it saves if it invites lawsuits. That’s why it’s important to check for potential race bias or other discrimination before making final decisions.

Tell bosses: Never urge workers to retire

11/01/2010
If an older employee has to be terminated, the fact that a boss had hinted that the worker should retire will make it easier to persuade a court that age was the real motivating reason for the discharge.