I fancy living a self-directed life. I’m not sure what I mean when I say that, but I have a much better understanding of what I think I mean after meeting Howard Roark. Do you know who I am talking about? I did not know this guy until very recently,…
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Earlier this month, I spoke to the Travis County Women Lawyers Association on employment law. One of the audience members asked a good question, which is: for an employer to be subject to Title VII, it has to have at least 15 employees. Do part-time employees count? Answer: liability under…
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I am interested in ethics. Not just the ethics of practicing law, but the ethics of living life. When I was in college, a family member told me, “Do the right thing, and you’ll be happy.” That is good advice. But I don’t believe that doing the right thing always…
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Here’s a recent arbitration case that will interest employers with Spanish-speaking employees. In Delfingen US-Texas L.P. v Valenzuela, the employee sued the employer for workers’ compensation retaliation. Because the employee had signed an arbitration agreement, the employer filed a motion to compel arbitration. Arguing that the arbitration agreement was procedurally…
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I had a great time speaking to the Manor Chamber of Commerce last week on sexual harassment. One of the members asked a good question, which is: do the laws governing sexual harassment apply to volunteers? Generally, the answer is no. Title VII and the Texas Commission on Human Rights…
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In late 2012, UT women’s track coach Bev Kearney was forced to resign after admitting to a consensual, year-long relationship with one of her athletes in the early 2000s. Not a month later, the Daily Texan reported that Major Applewhite, a UT assistant football coach, engaged in a one-time sexual…
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My toddler’s favorite book right now is Where the Wild Things Are, by Maurice Sendak. In Where the Wild Things Are, we meet Max. Dressed up in his wolf suit, Max creates mischief of one kind (he ties a sheet into knots and nails it to the wall to make…
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As a business and employment litigator, I am interested in conflict and its resolution. I was stunned when I heard about the Sandy Hook shooting. I asked myself: why did this happen? How could someone commit such atrocious acts? How can we prevent such atrocities in the future? I once…
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Texas has a statute that protects public whistleblowers who make a good faith report of a violation of law by a public agency or employee to the appropriate law enforcement agency. According to the statute, “appropriate law enforcement agency” is a governmental agency that the employee in good faith believes…
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2012 brought Texas businesses lots of employment law changes. In case you missed it, here is a short video of my recent talk on the radio program Money for Lunch about some of the highlights, including social media, arbitration, the top EEO claim against Texas employers, and what you can…
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