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Texas

Even employees who suffer no harm can collect top dollar

02/01/2008

Here’s yet another reason to clean up the workplace and make certain it’s free of harassment, graffiti and other evidence of a hostile work environment: Employees can collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in punitive damages even if they weren’t physically or financially harmed by the hostile workplace …

Despite ERISA workers’ comp plan, employee can still sue for negligence

02/01/2008

Texas employers that opt out of the state workers’ compensation system often adopt separate insurance plans to cover employees’ on-the-job injuries. Those plans usually provide no-fault benefits and are governed by ERISA. That doesn’t mean, however, that employees can’t sue under other state laws …

No individual liability under Texas Whistleblower Act or Labor Code

02/01/2008

Good news: Your managers and supervisors aren’t individually liable for violating either the Texas Whistleblower Act or the Texas Labor Code. That means your personal assets aren’t on the line …

Former union treasurer sentenced to prison for embezzlement

02/01/2008

A former treasurer of Local 900 of the Federal Independent Texas Union (FITU) was recently ordered to serve a 21-month prison sentence for embezzling $164,268 in union funds. The FITU represents employees at Lockheed Aerospace Corp. in Fort Worth …

Countrywide merger requires B of A to create new Texas jobs

02/01/2008

According to a recent Associated Press report, Bank of America must assume Countrywide Financial’s contract to create 7,500 new jobs in Texas if it wants to move forward with its plan to acquire the nation’s largest mortgage lender …

Tests to determine whether BP equipment caused fatal accident

02/01/2008

The attorney for the family of a worker who was fatally injured at BP’s Texas City refinery recently stated that he will have a metallurgist test equipment to determine whether its age and condition were factors in the accident …

Employment law lite: Court says monkeys, chimps can’t sue

02/01/2008

A Texas appeals court had dismissed a lawsuit filed by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) on behalf of nine chimpanzees and monkeys. The court said the primates don’t have an independent right to sue …

TWC awards nine Texas universities high-Tech grants

02/01/2008

The Texas Workforce Commission recently awarded nine grants, totaling nearly $2 million, to the Texas Youth in Technology Strategic Workforce Development initiative …

Former Richardson pastor faces sex charges—Again

02/01/2008

Darrell Gilyard, head of 700-member Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, FL, is in hot water for a second time over charges of sexual misconduct with members of his flock. Gilyard was a rising star at Victory Baptist Church in Richardson, TX …

OSHA safety reporting requirements

02/01/2008

Q. What information must be included in an OSHA Log 300 and when must it be posted? …