It looks like Houston employment lawyers are getting involved in the case against Adrian Garcia. Union President Robert Goerlitz told the Houston Chronicle that the lawsuit comes after workers being worn out by the mandatory overtime. He says that most of the overtime needs would go away once the other positions are filled.
]]>It's not always illegal to require employees of a company or agency to work overtime. However, the deputies union contends in their lawsuit that Sheriff Adrian Garcia's overtime policy is illegal because the sheriff has not publicly specified the emergency requiring it.
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires that employees who are not "exempt" receive overtime pay for any time worked beyond forty hours in any given workweek. There are, however, many different workers that can be exempt from FLSA's overtime rules. If you feel that you haven't received proper overtime wages or believe that you are illegally required to work more than 40 hours a week at your job, contact a Houston employment lawyer to learn more about what options you have when it comes to filing a claim.
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According to the complaint, a "less-qualified white person" was promoted instead of Ulysses Graves. The plaintiff is now seeking damages for lost wages and benefits, compensatory damages for mental anguish, interest, court costs and attorneys' fees.
Denying to promote an employee on the basis of race is just one form of racial discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. According to FindLaw, Title VII also prohibits employment decisions based on stereotypes and assumptions about abilities, traits, or the performance of individuals of certain racial groups. Anybody who believes that they have been a victim of discrimination by a current or potential employer as a job applicant or current employee, should contact a Houston employment lawyer to learn more information on filing a claim.
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Frances Pinson claims that upon her termination, she was told ""Your asthma isn't allowing you to do the job." The other employee responsible for emptying the freight was not fired. Hence, Texas employment lawyers are now arguing that the Family Dollar Company violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in this case. Title 1 of ADA makes it unlawful to discriminate in employment against a qualified individual with a disability.
In this case, the plaintiff is seeking damages for back pay, front pay, lost benefits, and compensatory damages including recovery for mental and emotional distress, punitive damages, court costs and attorney's fees. More information on disability discrimination in employment can be found through our Related Resources pages.
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The job applicant was reportedly applying to be a cable splicer technician for AT&T in Austin and had the necessary experience and expertise to perform the job. He had also safely performed a similar job for AT&T after he was diagnosed with diabetes. When this applicant was denied the job, EEOC stepped in and accused the company of violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
]]> Refusing to hire a qualified individual because of his or her disability is illegal at the federal level under ADA. According to FindLaw, a disability under ADA is defined as "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity." When applying for a job, an employer cannot ask if you are disabled or ask about the nature or severity of a disability. However, an employer may ask how you plan to perform the duties of a job with or without a reasonable accommodation.Anybody who feels that they have been discriminated in the workplace based on a disability or believes that they were not hired for a job because of a disability, should contact a Houston employment lawyer to learn more information on filing a claim. A listing of local attorneys can be found through FindLaw's directory.
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FindLaw states that the Drug-Free Workplace Act does not contain any provisions that specifically allow for workplace drug testing, but that the law instead requires federal government contractors and grantees to establish a drug-free awareness program for their employees. If a great number of employees have been convicted of criminal drug statues, then it can be concluded that the grantee has failed to make a good faith effort to provide a drug-free workplace, hence federal funding can be lost.
]]> When it comes to drug testing in the workplace, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that both blood and urine collection are minimally intrusive procedures which are not harmful to job applicants or employees when they are conducted in the context of an employment environment without direct observation by the tester. In most situations, pre-employment drug testing cannot be conducted until the applicant has already been offered the position.Anybody who feels that their rights have been violated through drug testing procedures in the workplace should contact a Houston employment lawyer to learn about the best course of potential legal action that can be taken. To learn more about the Drug-Free Workplace Act, see our Related Resources pages.
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According to FindLaw, an employee that is covered by FLSA is always entitled to overtime pay if he or she earns less than $455 per week or $23,660 per year. If an employee earns at least this much money and he or she is compensated on a salary, rather than an hourly basis, the employee could be exempt from overtime if his or her job falls into certain categories. These categories include executive positions and management, learned professionals, creative professionals, and outside sales employees. In addition, computer employees that have the primary duties of application creation and development or modification of computer systems can also be exempt from overtime status.
All employees should be familiar with their rights under FLSA and should not hesitate to take legal action if their employee rights have been violated. Contact a Houston employment lawyer to learn more information about FLSA or to file a claim.
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The Austin Statesman reports that the settlement money Margarita Decierdo will be receiving is equivalent to about a year's worth of pay and her attorney fees. The woman was a contract employee with the school district and was in the second year of her three-year contract with the district when she was terminated.
]]> The district said that the employee was terminated in an effort to reduce a projected gap in the 2010-11 budget. There were reportedly 36 contract employees that were terminated, but Margarita Decierdo was the only one of the contract workers to file for an appeal. The woman had a certified hearing examiner for the Texas Education Agency representing her, who stated that contract employees could be cut only for good cause, such as poor job performance, or when a district declares financial exigency, a state of fiscal emergency.Trustees of the settlement voted 7-1 to approve the settlement, which means that the former contract employee will receive the $149,500 but that she can no longer sue the school district.
Wrongful termination cases take all different shapes and forms. If you have recently been laid off or fired from a job and believe that you may have lost your job for an unlawful reason, it would be a good idea to contact a Houston employment lawyer to learn more information on filing a claim.
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Most employees are covered by workers' compensation, which provides money to employees who suffer from on-the-job related injuries. However, certain employees are excluded from workers' compensation benefits, including independent contractors, casual workers, farm workers, and unpaid volunteers. An employee who is not covered by workers' compensation can often sue the employer in court for damages if he or she is injured in the workplace.
Employees who are looking to collect workers' compensation for a work-related injury should contact a Texas employment lawyer to learn more information about filing a claim. For up-to-date information on workers' comp in Texas, visit the Texas Department of Insurance's website at http://www.tdi.state.tx.us/.
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With help from a Texas employment lawyer, the plaintiff in this case is seeking damages for overtime compensation, lost wages, liquidated damages, interest, court costs and attorneys' fees.
In the Lone Star state, there are Houston employment lawyers that represent employees that have been denied compensation due to overtime violations. Under FLSA, there are several categories of workers, such as executives and professional employees, who are exempt from overtime pay. However, there are many employees that are wrongfully classified as exempt, in which legal action can be taken.
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The plaintiff believes that her termination really had to do with her age and not the dining hall understanding. She claimed that the executive director of the camp showed a consistent bias against older people and that the director referenced other employees as being "just old." She also said that the camp's executive director referenced the camp's operating policies as "an old policy written by old men."
With help from an employment lawyer, the plaintiff is seeking damages for lost wages, future lost wages, attorney fees, mental anguish, exemplary damages and interest in the case.
As stated through FindLaw, age discrimination against people over the age of 40 is a violation of the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Anybody over the age of 40 that experiences age discrimination in the workplace should contact a Houston employment lawyer to learn more information on filing a claim.
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]]>The nurses Anne Mitchell and Vickilyn Galle were acquitted of felony charges of misusing public information earlier this year. Their lawsuit, which named Dr. Arafiles and hospital administrator Stan Wiley as defendants in the suit, in addition to naming the county hospital as a defendant, stated that the two nurses had been subjected to vindictive prosecution and that they had been denied of their First Amendment rights.
]]> Texas employment lawyers, who are experts on whistle-blower protection laws, alleged that the criminal prosecution was unprecedented. Their case was brought to the DA's office after a county sheriff, who is a friend of Dr. Arafiles, agreed to investigate the doctor's complaint.Yet with a settlement in place, the hospital and other defendants are not admitting and guilt and are able to settle the dispute without acknowledging liability.
According to FindLaw, Texas whistleblower laws state that an employer cannot suspend, terminate, or take other adverse personnel action if an employee reports a violation of law by employer or other employee. If you've a victim of wrongful termination because of whistleblowing, it's a good idea to see a Houston employment lawyer to learn more information on filing a claim.
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In the lawsuit, Earnest Sennet alleges that he was supposed to be paid $11 an hour, as it reportedly says in his contract. However, the defendant in this case told the plaintiff that he would only be getting paid $6 per hour. The plaintiff is a minority male, but the lawsuit does not specify what his exact ethnicity is or when he started his employment at Goodwill.
]]>The lawsuit accuses Goodwill of race discrimination and breach of contract, where the plaintiff is suing the agency for emotional distress and exemplary damages. Earnest Sennet has Texas employment lawyer Antoine Freeman representing him in the case.
According to FindLaw, racial discrimination is illegal in the workplace under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Reducing an employee's compensation on the basis of race or color is indeed one form of discrimination. While it's not exactly clear of when the plaintiff had worked for Goodwill, it's currently illegal to pay an employee less than the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour as of July 24, 2009. Anybody who believes that their rights have been violated in the workplace, whether due to discrimination or unfair wages, should not hesitate to contact a Houston employment lawyer to learn more information on filing a claim.
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Reuters reports that AT&T Inc. is in talks of settling the lawsuit that is almost a year old. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has proposed a settlement and both sides are set to meet for a mediation session on August 10 with further proceedings on September 6.
]]> The EEOC lawsuit states that the Dallas-based AT&T company has a company policy that it will not rehire workers who have previously retired from the company. Employment lawyers have asserted that the company has not offered a "legitimate reason" for the policy and that most people affected by the rule are over the age of 40.FindLaw states that the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) prohibits employers with 20 or more employees from discriminating against applicants and employees that are 40 years of age and older based on their age. In the case with AT&T, the EEOC is asking that the company forbid discrimination against older employees and that the affected employees receive appropriate back wages. Reuters states that tens of thousands of workers can be affected by the settlement.
We're lucky to have federal laws that protect older workers from age discrimination. Anybody who believes that their rights in the workplace have been violated by ADEA should contact an experienced Houston employment lawyer to discuss their situation and make sure that their legal rights are protected.
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Perhaps the unemployment trends are looking up since the number of manufacturing jobs in Texas is increasing. The San Antonio Express reports that Texas is acutually one of five states that added manufacturing jobs in each of the first six months of 2010. Texas currently has the second-largest manufacturing workforce in the nation behind California.
From the January-to-June period, the state of Texas added 22,800 jobs, which is a 2.8 percent increase from the beginning of the year. Now, let's just hope that the state continues to experience job growth and that the rise in manufacturing jobs is not short-lived.
Yet even though the state jobless rate continues to fall in the Lone Star state, there are still many Texans who are unemployed and have the right to file for unemployment benefits. Yet many Texans often have questions on how to file for Unemployment Insurance. Houston employment lawyers will often get involved in an unemployment insurance case if an employer challenges a former employee's unemployment claim. A Houston employment lawyer can also answer specific questions from current or former employees about unemployment claims in Texas.
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ABC News reports that the former IT director of the sheriff's office Wilfrido Willie Mata contacted the FBI when an outsider hacked into the county's computer system, even though he was asked to "look the other way" and not tell the county of the hacking. He later disclosed his cooperation with the FBI to the sheriff's office.
]]> But when Wilfrido Mata was fired in May, it raised a bunch of red flags for the IT director and for employment lawyers. Was the employee fired for blowing the whistle? He was told that he was fired because his performance failed to meet expectations for which he was hired, but in February the suit says that his performance review was rated average. The suit also states that the former IT director had no prior disciplinary problems and received years of superior job performance reviews.The lawsuit against Harris County alleges the sheriff's offices violated the Whistleblower Act. The federal government and many states, including Texas, have laws protecting whistleblowers from retaliation for filing a claim or reporting a violation. Anybody who has reported a violation of law by an employer and believes that they suffered retaliation because of the reporting, should contact a Houston employment lawyer to learn information about filing a claim and about what legal rights you have in such a situation.
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