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Texas

Some internal complaints may qualify as whistle-blowing

07/02/2010
The Texas Whistleblower Act protects some employees who report violations of the law to “an appropriate law enforcement authority.” But does that include complaining up the employer’s chain of command? Sometimes.

Beware discussions concerning employee longevity

07/02/2010
Casual business conversations can come back to haunt you if some comments imply that you could save money without so many long-term employees.

Good news: Texas Supreme Court says no double claims for sexual harassment

07/02/2010

The Texas Supreme Court has issued a ruling in a closely watched sexual harassment case involving a woman who charged co-worker sexual harassment and common-law failure to supervise. The court said that because the underlying facts were the same for both claims, the woman could sue only for sexual harassment.

Looking for ‘creative’ ways to avoid overtime? Courts will look for ways to make you pay

07/02/2010

Before you are tempted to come up with clever ways to avoid paying overtime to employees, consider this: It’s usually easy for courts to see through such ruses. And after they discover shenanigans, courts usually reward the wronged employee with a bonus payment equal to the lost overtime wages—plus the employer has to pay the legal fees.

Opt-in to Texas workers’ comp to cut liability

07/02/2010

Good news if you’ve opted into the Texas workers’ compensation system and you sometimes rely on temporary staffing agencies to supply workers. If one of those workers gets hurt on your premises—and if you control crucial elements of the worker’s day, such as telling him when to work and take breaks, and supply tools or equipment—you may be saved from direct liability for the injury. Workers’ comp will cover the injury.

Before you decide to fire, make sure past job evaluations support your rationale

06/18/2010

Here’s a tip that will make courts more likely to uphold your termination decisions. Make sure whatever reason you use to justify the firing also showed up in past performance evaluations. Nothing raises suspicions more than kudos followed by discharge.

Firing? Back with complete discipline records

06/18/2010

Employers that keep careful track of which employees are disciplined—and for what reasons—have a leg up if they’re ever sued for discrimination. Before you terminate any employee, take the time to pull up all similar past disciplinary files. If those records show you fired other employees for identical or less-serious offenses, chances are no court will second-guess your decision in the latest case.

Austin fire department prevails in gender bias lawsuit

06/07/2010
Following two days of deliberation, a Travis County jury has ruled against an Austin firefighter who accused the Austin Fire Department of discrimination.

How should we handle tip calculations that factor out credit card fees?

06/02/2010
Q. Our employees receive tips, and we take advantage of the tip credit toward the minimum wage. In the past, we have paid employees the full tip amount on credit card charges, even though we have to pay a percentage fee to the credit card company. It doesn’t seem fair that we should have to pay money that we don’t really receive. How may we resolve this fairly and legally?

When commuting time varies, do we have to pay for trips in excess of ‘normal’?

06/02/2010
Q. Our maintenance employees drive company vehicles and keep them overnight. The employees are responsible for servicing a number of stores. Some days, they report to our warehouse to pick up parts before going to their first location. On other days, they report directly to a work site … Do we have to pay them for any time in excess of their normal commuting time to the warehouse?