• The HR Specialist - Print Newsletter
  • HR Specialist: Employment Law
  • The HR Weekly
Connection failed: SQLSTATE[HY000] [2002] No such file or directory

Texas

Considering asking for court review of arbitration decisions

06/30/2011
Think every arbitration decision is final? Think again. Arbi­tration agreements can allow a court to review the decision, as long as both parties agreed.

How to avoid ‘at-will’ legal limbo: Have attorney prepare employment contracts

06/30/2011

Here’s a case that shows you can’t have it both ways. A Texas appeals court has concluded that an employer can’t enforce an employment contract against an employee when that contract specifies that the employee remains an at-will employee.

Think twice before setting ‘English-only’ rule; courts view complaints as protected activity

06/30/2011
Don’t try to prevent employees from speaking languages other than Eng­lish at work, especially when they’re chatting among themselves. Unless you have a good business reason for banning other languages, courts will likely see the practice as discriminatory.

Work the ADA process when it isn’t obvious an employee has a qualifying disability

06/30/2011

Sometimes, employees jump right into requesting reasonable accommodations, even if it’s not obvious they have a disabling medical condition. Does the employer automatically violate the law by refusing to consider the request? That’s the question the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals just answered.

Voodoo a religion? Texas HHS about to find out

06/30/2011
A former employee of the Texas Health and Human Services Com­mis­sion has accused the state agency of retaliation and discrimination on the basis of her religion—voodoo.

Employee must prove ‘willful’ FLSA violation

06/30/2011
The FLSA can be a trap for employers that don’t properly classify their workers. In fact, getting classification wrong can lead to class-action lawsuits and large back-pay awards. And to confuse things even more, if the employer acted “willfully,” employees get those double awards going back three years. Now the 5th Circuit Court of Ap­peals has at least made it a little harder for employees to collect those damages for three years.

Layoff OK after FMLA leave–with justification

06/30/2011
Employees who take FMLA leave don’t get greater protection from layoffs than employees who don’t take leave. As long as you can show that you would have eliminated a job even if the employee had not taken FMLA leave, the termination is fine.

What laws apply in foreign workplaces?

06/01/2011
Q. Our company has employees stationed outside the United States. A situation recently occurred that raised the question: Do U.S. employment laws apply to employees of American companies working outside the United States?

Does the WARN Act require notifying workers if we sell part of our business?

06/01/2011
Q. My company is selling a portion of our business in which we employ more than 100 workers. Do we have any special obligations to provide notice to these employees?

What are the rules governing employment of minors for summer seasonal work?

06/01/2011
Q. We are considering hiring several high school students to work at our company for the summer. What statutes or regulations do we need to consider?