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Texas

Houston company faces class-action COBRA lawsuit

06/01/2011
A former employee of Brunel Energy Inc. is suing the company for failing to notify her of her right to maintain her health insurance coverage after she quit in 2010—and she has proposed making the case a class-action lawsuit that could involve hundreds of other former employees.

Cable installers will split $270,000 in back overtime pay

06/01/2011
Integral Devel­opment Solutions LLC, a Plano cable TV installation company, must pay $270,696 in back over­time to 114 workers it incorrectly classified as independent contractors instead of employees.

OSHA accident probe burns China Grove bakery

06/01/2011
A tip-off that prompted OSHA to investigate a South Texas commercial bakery could lead to fines totaling almost $230,000. But it wasn’t employee whistle-blowing that led the federal agency to crack down on Lone Star Bakery.

10 steps to take when responding to an EEOC complaint

06/01/2011

The EEOC and state and local agencies have been filing more administrative charges in recent years and that trend is likely to continue. Because administrative charges can be precursors to discrimination lawsuits, it’s critical for you to handle them properly. These 10 tips will help you prepare to respond.

Interstate truck loaders aren’t entitled to overtime

06/01/2011
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Justices rule ordinance can create contract

06/01/2011
The Supreme Court of Texas has ruled that, under some circumstances, an ordinance that governs the work of public employees and specifies benefits may be enforceable as a contract.

Make sure your noncompete agreements comply with all Texas requirements

06/01/2011

The Supreme Court of Texas has ruled that an employer can’t seek dam­ages under a covenant-not-to-­compete if the underlying agreement doesn’t satisfy standards set out in Texas state law. That means all your efforts to protect the company from a former employee are wasted unless the agree­ment is rock solid.

Can you sue for harassment if no one actually harasses you? 5th Circuit opens the door a crack

06/01/2011

Here’s a new worry for employers: More and more employees who aren’t being directly targeted for har­­­­­­­ass­­ment are suing anyway. They claim that the fact that others may be experiencing sexual, racial or other forms of harassment means that they, in ­effect, are also victims. Some of those claims actually succeed.

Good cause to act? Don’t wait to terminate

06/01/2011
Sometimes, it’s smart to pull the termination trigger sooner rather than later. Waiting just gives the employee a chance to dig in—and plan a lawsuit.

OK to treat similar rule violations differently–as long as you document your rationale

05/13/2011

Some managers think they have to punish the same rule violation exactly the same way for all employees. But the truth is that no two cases are exactly alike. Those differences can justify punishing one employee more severely than another. The key: You must be prepared to justify why you treated the cases differently.