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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Welcome to Texas Business Matters! Today we start our 10-part series on non-compete agreements. In this series, we will cover what is a non-compete agreement; under what circumstances a non-compete agreement is enforceable under Texas law; the difference between non-compete, non-solicitation, and non-disclosure agreements; how to determine whether your business…
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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 April, I wrote about the enforceability of forfeiture clauses in an article published in Texas Lawyer and reprinted with permission here. A forfeiture clause requires an employee to forfeit his right to compensation if he engages in activity detrimental to the company, such as working for a competitor. In…
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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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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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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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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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I once took a personality test that said I should become a monk. I didn’t take its advice. Instead, I became a lawyer. Turns out, I am a good lawyer. And I love practicing law. But the monk in me has noticed a belief in our society, and in our…
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This week, the U.S. Supreme Court decided a case that involves two hot topics in employment law: arbitration agreements and noncompetes. In Nitro-Lift Technologies, LLC v. Howard, two employees who worked in Oklahoma signed a noncompete with their employer at the time, Nitro-Lift. The noncompete included an arbitration clause. The…
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