Welcome to Texas Business Matters! Today we talk about another commonly-held myth that prevents employers from acting on a credible claim of sexual harassment—specifically, that of the “Superstar” harasser. The “Superstar” harasser is an employee believed to be too valuable to terminate. Think Matt Lauer, the former host of NBC’s “Today,” who…
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Trade secrets are the kind of information that, if end up in the hands of a competitor, could spell disaster for your business. A common example is the Coca Cola recipe. Other examples include customer lists, pricing information, and business strategies. Under Texas law, it is illegal for an employee…
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In Texas, if you work for a private employer, it is often perfectly legal for the employer to fire you for reporting illegal activity. However, there are some notable exceptions to this general rule. One is section 260A.014 of the Texas Health and Safety Code. This 2011 statute prohibits discrimination…
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As we approach the holidays, I’d like to discuss a subject near and dear to the heart of many Texans: guns. Traditionally, Texas law provided that an employer could prevent employees from bringing guns onto the employer's property, including the employer's parking lot. But did you know that in 2011,…
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Picture this: you have a small business with more than fifteen employees. Tough economic times require you to lay someone off. You lay someone off who happens to be female. She sues for sex discrimination. You now have to hire an attorney to defend the claim. The attorney wants a…
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This week, I was on the national Internet radio program Money for Lunch, talking about hot topics in labor, employment, and business law. The first question I was asked was whether, in Texas, an employer can make an employee or potential hire turn over his/her social media password(s). In a…
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Last week, the Fifth Circuit affirmed summary judgment granted in favor of the employer in a discrimination case. In this case, the employee complained that the employer’s decision to give her the second highest possible, but not the highest possible, rating on a performance review was age, race, sex, sexual…
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A former law school classmate posed this question to me today: if an employee is involuntarily* terminated and receives a severance payment, does that preclude the employee from receiving unemployment benefits? The answer is: it depends on whether the payment is considered “severance” or “wages in lieu of notice” under…
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In August, global technology giant 3M agreed to pay $3 million to the EEOC to end a nationwide age discrimination law suit. According to the EEOC, 3M laid off many highly paid older employees to make way for younger leaders. The EEOC’s investigation uncovered an employee email describing then-CEO Jim…
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