The Texas Board of Legal Specialization was established by the Texas State Bar in 1974 with the goal of promoting the quality and availability of attorneys’ services in certain areas of the law. The idea behind establishing this Board was that by allowing attorneys to become specialized, the standards of…
Sometimes Texas workers believe that they must be as helpful as possible to an employer, even if it means working off the clock. For example, sometimes workers come in early to help an employer set up for that day’s work, but they don’t punch in for that period. Or, sometimes,…
Many workers do not realize that they do not need to go off the clock for short lunch breaks or snacks. If you take yourself off the clock for breaks under 30 minutes, you may not be getting the wages to which you’re entitled. There are many employment practices not regulated…
Your past should not dictate your future in America. Those who are able to work should be able to work and build their futures. Partially due to a failed war on drugs, which disproportionately affected African Americans and Latinos, one in four Americans who are of working age have a criminal record.…
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is the federal law that regulates minimum wage and overtime, including how these issues should be handled in connection with a summer internship. Employment is defined broadly such that anyone who is suffered or permitted to work is employed. The United States Department of…
The eight-hour workday was developed during the Industrial Revolution so that workers doing manual labor in a factory would not have to work as many hours. Prior to that, in the late 18th century, factory workers worked 10-16 hours days to keep factories running 24/7. A campaign was started to…
Many people in Texas and elsewhere get confused between “employment at will” and “right to work.” Both of these terms are legal terms associated with employment law, but they have distinct meanings that are crucial to understand. Employment at will is a common law doctrine. It means that the employer…
In July 2015, a Wal-Mart employee sued her employer in federal court, alleging that the corporation had intentionally deprived her of spousal health insurance benefits because she and her spouse were of the same sex. She’d worked for the company for 15 years. This lawsuit was filed a few weeks…
In April, Fox News host Bill O’Reilly was removed from the network due to allegations of sexual harassment. This was just the latest of claims related to sexual harassment that have arisen from the network’s office culture, and the network paid $13 million to settle five claims brought related to O’Reilly…
This lawsuit was based on the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), which prohibits discrimination. It protects job applicants and employees who are at least 40 years old from age discrimination with regard to hiring, promotion, compensation, terms or conditions of employment, and termination. It’s enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity…