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
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.
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.
Rachel Bethel Dallas
Trial Attorney
If you’ve experienced discrimination, harassment, or retaliation at work in Texas, you’ve probably been advised to file a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) or the Texas Workforce Commission (“TWC”).
What you may not realize is that the timing of when you hire counsel may be just as important as filing the Charge itself.
Dallas Senior Trial Attorney Deontae Wherry
Every Fourth of July, we celebrate the words that launched a nation: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” Fireworks light the sky, families gather, and we honor the idea that no person is born above another. But behind the barbecues and parades lies a promise that Americans are still working to keep. The declaration that all people are created equal was not a description of the world as it was in 1776. It was a goal, a challenge handed down to every generation that followed. Nowhere is that challenge more alive than in the American workplace.
This year marks a milestone: 250 years since the Declaration of Independence. As we celebrate this 250th anniversary, we are reminded that the fight the Founders began is not finished. The words on that parchment set a standard we are still reaching for, and every generation, including ours, is called to carry it forward.
Dallas Senior Trial Attorney Deontae Wherry
Juneteenth started right here in Texas. On June 19, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston with General Order No. 3 and finally announced freedom for the enslaved people of Texas, more than two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Texas was the first state to recognize Juneteenth as an official holiday in 1980, and Congress made it a federal holiday in 2021.
Is Juneteenth a Paid Holiday for You?
Dallas Employment Trial Lawyer Riley Carter
When an employer crosses the line from negligent to malicious, punitive damages are one of the most powerful tools an employee has. But the statute you sue under can mean the difference between a $50,000 ceiling and an unlimited verdict. Here’s a quick guide to how punitive damages work in Texas employment cases under federal and state law.
Federal Law: Title VII vs. § 1981
Rachel Bethel Dallas
Trial Attorney
Imagine that you’re at work. You learn that you’re being denied an accommodation. The sexual harassment won’t stop after your report. A paycheck isn’t adding up. It might be tempting to type the whole story into an AI site and ask, “Do I have a case?” It’s fast, it’s free, and the answer sounds right. After all, it’s written in legalese! What could go wrong?
Quite a bit actually. AI tools can be useful for plenty of things, but advice on your employment is not one of them.
Dallas Employment Trial Lawyer Riley Carter
Members of the military and uniformed services make extraordinary sacrifices in service to our country. Federal law recognizes that those sacrifices should not come at the cost of a civilian career. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) is designed to protect service members and veterans from discrimination, retaliation, and unlawful job loss related to their military service.
At Rob Wiley, P.C., we regularly represent employees whose rights have been violated after they served—or continued to serve—in the military. Understanding the basics of USERRA is the first step in protecting those rights.
There is a general concept in civil procedure is called standing. Standing is the question of whether or not the Plaintiff bringing the claim can actually legally do so. In employment law, it seems like a pretty straightforward inquiry, but sometimes it can get pretty complicated.
Generally speaking, an employee who has been discriminated or retaliated against in a way that is defined by a statute has the most easily established standing in court. For example, a woman who is constantly subjected to sexist comments in the workplace and then fired and replaced by a male employee has standing under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to bring a case against her former employer. Whether she’ll win is another battle in and of itself, dependent on the facts, but the threshold question of whether she’ll get in the door is pretty easily answered. Or, an employee who was fired two days after requesting a reasonable accommodation similarly has standing under the Americans with Disabilities Act, as he was retaliated against for engaging in a legally protected activity: requesting an accommodation. Again, whether he’ll win is another question, but he’s able to get in the door, as he’s the appropriate person to bring the suit against the employer, as opposed to someone who just witnessed these things happen.
It gets more complicated. What if that employee is actually not legally an employee, but an independent contractor? Well, most statutes do not afford independent contractors standing to bring employment claims. But, they might legally be considered a full-fledged employee under the “economic realities test” (which we have several other blogs about), and establish standing that way.
Dallas Employment Lawyer Blog