Dallas Employment Lawyer Blog

FMLA Interference v. Retaliation: Two Different Ways to Sue Your Employer

September 28, 2026 | Deontae Wherry

Dallas Senior Trial Attorney Deontae Wherry

You did everything right. You asked for the leave you were entitled to, whether it was to recover from surgery, care for a sick parent, or welcome a new baby. Then something felt off. Maybe your employer made the leave difficult, dragged their feet, or acted like you were causing a problem. Or maybe you came back to find your hours cut, a bad review out of nowhere, or a pink slip waiting for you. If any of that sounds familiar, you may have a claim under the Family and Medical Leave Act, and it helps to understand exactly what kind.

The most important thing to know is this: under the FMLA, there are two separate ways an employer can break the law. One is interference. The other is retaliation. They sound similar, but they are two different claims, and knowing the difference can make all the difference in protecting your rights.

Sarbanes-Oxley Retaliation: What Corporate Whistleblowers Need to Know

September 21, 2026 | Riley Carter

Dallas Employment Trial Lawyer Riley Carter

If you reported suspected securities fraud, accounting misconduct, or shareholder fraud at a publicly traded company and your employer retaliated against you for it, you may have a claim under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX). Congress passed SOX in 2002, in the wake of the Enron and WorldCom scandals, specifically to protect employees who blow the whistle on corporate fraud. Its whistleblower protection provision, codified at 18 U.S.C. § 1514A, is one of the strongest anti-retaliation laws on the books, and it is often misunderstood by the very employees it was designed to protect.

At Rob Wiley, P.C., we represent employees across Texas and nationwide who have faced demotion, termination, harassment, or other retaliation after raising concerns about corporate wrongdoing. Here is what you need to know.

Can My Employer Discriminate Against Me Based on My Genetic Information?

September 14, 2026 | Rachel Bethel

Rachel Bethel Dallas
Trial Attorney

The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) is a federal civil rights law. It prohibits employers from using your genetic information to make employment decisions. It also restricts them from even asking for it in the first place.

You might be wondering how your employer would ever even find out about your genetic information. After all, genetic information sounds like it might just pertain to DNA.

I Closed the Deal, Then I Quit: Where’s My Commission?

September 7, 2026 | Deontae Wherry

Dallas Senior Trial Attorney Deontae Wherry

You landed the deal of the year. The contract is signed, the client is happy, and a commission is coming your way. Then everything changes: maybe a better opportunity appears and you decide to resign, or maybe your employer lets you go. Either way, the same question arises, and in Texas the answer often surprises people. When you leave a job, whether you quit or you are terminated, are you still owed the commission on a deal you closed?

The most important thing to understand is this: whether you get paid may come down to what your paperwork says. Being strategic, before you resign and before a separation catches you off guard, can be the difference between walking away with what you earned and walking away with nothing.

More Than a Long Weekend: What Labor Day Actually Stands For

September 2, 2026 | Cassidy Monska

Dallas Employment Trial Lawyer Cassidy Monska

Labor Day means different things to different people. For some, it is the unofficial end of summer, a day for barbecues, back to school sales, and one last trip to the lake. But the holiday has a history worth remembering, especially if you are someone who clocks in, punches out, and wonders whether the system is actually looking out for you.

Where Labor Day Came From

What Happens to Your Confidentiality and Trade Secret Agreement After You Leave a Job?

August 31, 2026 | Riley Carter

Dallas Employment Trial Lawyer Riley Carter

Most employees sign a proprietary information or trade secret agreement on their first day, somewhere in a stack of onboarding paperwork handed over between the tax forms and the direct deposit authorization. Very few employees read it closely, and almost no one keeps a copy. The document usually resurfaces only at the moment it matters most, when the employee has accepted a new position and the former employer sends a letter reminding them of “continuing obligations.” Understanding what these agreements actually require, and what they cannot lawfully require, is essential for any employee considering a move.

These agreements travel under a variety of names, including confidentiality agreement, nondisclosure agreement, proprietary information and inventions agreement, or employee agreement regarding confidential information. The label matters far less than the contents. A single document may contain several distinct promises, including a duty not to disclose or use confidential information, an assignment of inventions and work product to the employer, a promise to return all company property and delete company data, a promise not to solicit customers or clients, a promise not to recruit former coworkers, a covenant not to compete, a notice period before resignation, and a forfeiture or clawback provision affecting bonuses, commissions, or equity. Each of these operates differently, and each carries a different level of enforceability under Texas law.

Should I Sign an Employee Agreement with an Arbitration Clause in It?

August 24, 2026 | Rachel Bethel

Rachel Bethel Dallas
Trial Attorney

If you’ve started a new job recently, chances are that you signed some documents that you didn’t fully read. Somewhere in that stack of onboarding papers, there may have been a mandatory arbitration agreement.

And let me guess. No one at HR sat you down and explained what this clause actually means, right? That’s not by accident. It’s by design.

Claim vs. Lawsuit: What You Actually Need to Know Before You Wait Too Long

August 19, 2026 | Cassidy Monska

Dallas Employment Trial Lawyer Cassidy Monska

Scroll through social media long enough and you will find someone telling a stranger to “sue” over almost anything. A canceled flight. A rude cashier. A manager who raised their voice. Everyone in the comment section is suddenly a lawyer.

Here is the problem with that: the “sue them” culture makes it harder to spot the situations that actually do matter. People who have been through real discrimination or retaliation start to wonder if their situation is “serious enough,” and they wait, and they lose time they cannot get back. Employment claims often move on short deadlines, so the cost of waiting can be the whole case.

Making the Company Speak: Why the 30(b)(6) Deposition Is a Plaintiff’s Best Friend

August 3, 2026 | Riley Carter

Dallas Employment Trial Lawyer Riley Carter

One of the most frustrating defenses in employment litigation is the corporate shrug. Ask why an employee was fired, and no one seems to know. The supervisor points to human resources. HR points to a manager who has since left. The manager points to a policy nobody can locate. The company insists that the decision was legitimate while making sure that no single witness will own it.

Rule 30(b)(6) exists to end that game. It is, in my view, the single most powerful discovery tool available to an employee suing an employer, and defense counsel know it. Understanding how it works, and how to use it aggressively, often determines whether a case settles on favorable terms or drifts toward trial with a muddy record.

Reasonable Accommodations for Stress and Anxiety: What Texas Workers Need to Know

July 27, 2026 | Robert J. Wiley

Mental health struggles do not clock out when you clock in. If stress or anxiety is affecting your ability to do your job, you may have more options than you think. Texas workers are protected under both federal and state law, and understanding these protections can make a real difference in your day to day work life.

Do Stress and Anxiety Qualify as Disabilities?

Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended (ADAAA), a condition qualifies as a disability if it “substantially limits one or more major life activities.” Anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and PTSD, often meet this standard when they are diagnosed and documented by a healthcare provider. General workplace stress on its own usually does not qualify, but chronic stress tied to a diagnosed mental health condition can.