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Texas

Employee out of FMLA leave and unable to do the job? It’s time to consider termination

03/30/2012

You probably know that when a disabled employee has used up all his FMLA leave entitlement, he may still be entitled to reasonable accommodations under the ADA. It’s legitimate to offer additional leave as a reasonable accommodation. However, at some point, time off can be a burden for employers, especially when the employee can’t estimate when he will be ready to return. In that case, it may be time to terminate the employee.

No matter how many clients, temps must still get OT pay

03/30/2012
Dallas-based staffing agency Temp Team has agreed to settle FLSA violations un­­covered during a U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division investigation. The $244,104 settlement will be split among 252 current and former employees.

Texas Supreme Court rules on jury-trial waivers

03/30/2012
The Texas Supreme Court has handed an important victory to Texas employers eager to avoid jury trials for employment disputes: It ruled that, as long as the employees are at-will workers, threatening to fire them for refusing to give up the right to a jury trial does not invalidate the agreement.

Treat arbitration like any other litigation

03/30/2012
Employers sometimes assume that because a case is in arbitration, they don’t have to take the case as seriously as they would during courtroom proceedings. That can be a big mistake.

Can we ask about disabilities before hiring?

03/08/2012
Q. We recently extended an employment offer to someone who was later determined to be unable to perform the job’s essential functions due to a visual impairment. As a result, we wasted a significant amount of time. Aren’t workers obligated under the ADA to disclose that they suffer from a disability?

Can we make deaf employee–and his boss–learn and communicate with sign language?

03/08/2012
Q. We recently hired a deaf employee who communicates exclusively by written notes. We are finding that this process is time-consuming and harms productivity. May we require the deaf worker and his supervisor to learn sign language? Can we terminate them if they refuse?

Employees can’t hide behind FMLA to dodge legitimate discipline

03/08/2012
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has dismissed a lawsuit brought by a worker who claimed she was fired in retaliation for taking intermittent FMLA leave. The court ruled that she was fired for the most defensible of all reasons: She treated a customer badly.

OSHA: Euless printer clueless about safety

03/08/2012
Printing company SpeQtrum Pre­­press Production Services faces 14 serious safety and health violations and one other-than-serious violation following an OSHA inspection of its facility in Euless. Proposed penalties add up to $44,800.

Houston restaurant chain faces EEOC harassment suit

03/08/2012
Two former bartenders at Houston’s Berryhill Baja Grill have filed sexual harassment suits against the restaurant, alleging that a manager constantly harassed and groped them—and at least once, exposed himself to them.

Austin’s HBMG agrees to repay diverted retirement funds

03/08/2012
Austin-based information technology firm HBMG and its president, Manuel Zarate, have agreed to settle a lawsuit alleging the company failed to transfer employee retirement fund contributions into its 401(k) program.