Hurricane season begins June 1 for the Texas coast. The Tropical Meteorology Project from Colorado State University predicts in its 2009 Atlantic Seasonal Hurricane Forecast that there will be 12 named storms; 6 hurricanes; and 2 intense hurricanes this year.
Texas law protects most employees who evacuate their homes and work areas in compliance with a government evacuation order. The law
By now most of you have read or heard that President Obama nominated Sonia Sotomayor for the U.S. Supreme Court to replace Justice David Souter. Judge Sotomayor is currently an appellate judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit based in New York. She also served on the federal district bench before joining the
In 2008 the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) was passed. Earlier this year the EEOC issued proposed regulations interpreting GINA and those regulations are expected to be finalized this month. GINA generally prohibits employers from possessing and using genetic information about individuals or from making employment decisions using that information, with several limited exceptions. A number of other
I just returned from Tulane University Law School’s 27th Annual Multi-State Labor and Employment Law Seminar held at the La Cantera resort in San Antonio, Texas. (See brochure here). Attendees and presenters at this conference are some of the finest and most experienced labor and employment lawyers in the country. During my three days at the conference, I did
Following Arlen Specter’s announcement that he was opposed to the Employee Free Choice Act in its current form and other senators expressing strong reservations about the bill (See Michael Fox’s post here), there has been much speculation about what the next step will be in organized labor’s attempts to obtain labor organization reform. Will Labor seek to have a compromise bill
With only a few weeks left in the 2009 Texas legislative session, here is an update on the status of several bills to watch for Texas employers. To see a bill’s current status, click on the links below that are updated by the Texas legislature.
With the increased number of layoffs and reductions in force, many Texas employers are paying out large amounts of severance payments and wages in lieu of notice. Employers making these payments must not forget to comply with any court orders they have received regarding the deductions or garnishments from employee wages on these payments. A Texas employer
On April 30, 2009, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it distributed new enforcement guidance to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The new enforcement guidance emphasizes the Department’s focus on targeting employers who knowingly hire illegal workers and thereby cultivate illegal workplaces.
According to Ginger Thompson of the New York Times, the guidelines state that