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Q&A

I was harassed and I quit! Now can I sue—Or get unemployment?

06/06/2008
Q. I found my working conditions to be intolerable because of the behavior of my male co-workers that I considered to be sexual harassing. I just did not have the energy to complain about the behavior and face the consequences, so I quit without telling my employer about the harassment. I am having trouble finding a new job, and now I am thinking I made a mistake. Will I be able to sue my employer for sexual harassment? Can I obtain unemployment insurance?

Is it legal to deny me an interview just because I don’t meet the posted requirements?

06/06/2008
Q. I applied for a new position within my company—a promotion—for which my on-the-job experience clearly makes me the best candidate. However, the job posting states that the job requires a college degree and my employer will not even interview me for the job because he says I do not meet the minimum job requirements. Is this legal? …

Hourly pay for highly paid workers

06/03/2008
Q. We want to hire certain highly paid workers at an hourly rate, but we don’t want to pay overtime at time and a half. These workers would perform exempt duties for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act. What are our options? …

Requiring fees from applicants

06/03/2008
Q. We have a problem with applicants who pass the pre-hiring process but then decide for some reason that they don’t want the job after all. By the time we learn this, we have already spent time and money on drug tests and orientation, and turned down other applicants. Can we require applicants to submit fees to apply, which we will refund if we don’t hire them, or if they remain employed for a minimum period of time? …

Dealing with a fired employee who signed an arbitration agreement

06/03/2008
Q. All of our applicants sign an arbitration agreement. Recently, for the first time, an employee we fired (he had signed the agreement) had a lawyer send us a letter complaining about his termination. Can we use the agreement to prevent the employee from filing a claim for unemployment benefits or a charge of discrimination? …

Branch offices and FMLA leave

06/03/2008
Q. Our company has about 75 employees scattered throughout 10 offices in the state, with a maximum of 10 in any one office. One of our employees has requested FMLA leave for a serious health condition. Do we have to provide it? …

Penalties under the Colorado Wage Act

06/03/2008
Q. We just received notice from a terminated worker that he believes we owe him money for unpaid commissions. What is our potential risk in this situation? …

Can a credit card company garnish one of my employees’ wages?

05/30/2008
Q. I have been contacted by a credit card company about garnishing the wages of one of my employees. Can a credit card company garnish wages in Texas?

Can we mandate paying via direct deposit?

05/30/2008
Q. Can a Texas employer require its employees to accept payment of wages through an electronic transfer of funds? …

Seasonal employees and overtime pay

05/30/2008
Q. What are “seasonal employees”? Is it true that an employer does not have to pay them overtime?