As many states are planning to re-open parts of their workforce in the coming weeks, it’s helpful to take a look at some suggestions for how to safely do so. Thankfully, the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) has published Guidance for Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19 (“Guidance”), which outlines steps employers can take to […]
Attorney Blog, Human Resources
Texas Appellate Court Shows Non-Competes Are Still Alive and Well in Texas
Courts have frequently held that a no-solicitation agreement is unreasonable to the extent it prohibits a former sales employee from soliciting customers the employee did not serve for the employer. In Gehrke v. Merritt Hawkins and Associates, LLC, however, the court of appeals held that a trial court should have allowed a broader restriction barring […]
In an effort to take a brief reprieve from the pandemic that has literally swept the nation, this week, we are going to take a look at a Supreme Court decision that was handed down on March 23, 2020. In Comcast Corp. v. National Association of African American-Owned Media et al., the United States Supreme […]
The Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification (“WARN”) Act requires employers with over 100 employees to follow certain notice requirements when laying off employees. 20 C.F.R. 693.6. WARN requires employers with 100 employees or more to give affected workers at least 60 days’ notice of any plant closing or mass layoff, with exceptions for, among others, “unforeseeable […]
With all of the recent negative news, its nice to see that our federal government is taking steps to help ease the county’s economic strife. According to the U.S. Department of Labor Unemployment Insurance Program Letter No. 10-20, states can pay unemployment insurance benefits to workers who miss time on the job because of the […]
As you may have heard, Coronavirus (COVID-19) is sweeping the country – and not in a good way. There has been plenty of discussions about working remotely and health precautions around the office. But, it’s also important to remember that Coronavirus may impact your commercial contracts as well. If you have not yet begun to […]
Generally, this weekly post is somewhat related to the realm of Employment Law or HR topics. However, this week I decided to take a brief jump over into the realm of Insurance Law – primarily because I thought this recent case out of the United States District Court Western District of Texas El Paso Division […]
Recently, a jury in New Jersey ordered a large bank to pay a former employee $2.4 million in damages for allegedly failing to take effective action to protect her and other employees from a customer’s alleged sexual harassment and misconduct. According to her lawsuit, former wealth manager Damara Scott said she was leaving the bank […]
Attorney Blog, Human Resources
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Provides Guidance on Reasonable Accommodations
Brett Horvath was employed as a driver/pump operator by the City of Leander Fire Department (Leander is a city north of Austin, Texas). In 2016, the Fire Department began requiring TDAP vaccinations (TDAP is a combination vaccine that protects against three bacterial diseases: tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (whooping cough)). Horvath, an ordained Baptist minister, objected […]
Attorney Blog, Human Resources
Offensive Remarks By Employer Not Held as Racism During Discrimination Suit
Stray remarks, while “offensive,” did not show that Texas Children’s Hospital fired an employee based on race, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled (Eaglin v. Texas Children’s Hospital, No. 19-20222 (5th Cir. Feb. 4, 2020)) [http://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/unpub/19/19-20222.0.pdf]. Plaintiffs Annette Williams and Victoria Eaglin—who are both black—worked for Texas Children’s Hospital (“TCH”) as Patient Access […]