Every employee has a right to a safe and secure workplace. In fact, in today’s digital age, employees can easily learn about their workplace rights and privileges online. Both state and federal laws prohibit all forms of discrimination at work. If an employer...
Companies operating in the energy sector in Texas play a major role in the state economy. Oil and gas production, in particular, is huge across the Lone Star State. Providing energy services, such as oil extraction or refining, can be incredibly lucrative for a...
All employers can learn a valuable lesson from federal lawsuits by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against two Chili’s Grill & Bar restaurants. One of the restaurants is outside of Dallas, and the other is in Arkansas. Both cases involve...
When employees suffer injuries at their job, it’s highly likely they’ll file for workers’ compensation. Workers’ comp is a great way for employees to still earn an income when they’re unable to work. Texas is a no-fault injury state – in other words, workers can...
There are times when you have to let an employee go because it's just not working. You know that it's the best move for the company, and you know that you have a valid reason to fire them. However, you are concerned that the employee may lie about why they were fired....
You worked hard to become a doctor, and now an unhappy patient is looking to destroy your reputation. Unfortunately, you need to accept the chance of facing at least one of these claims during your career is high. That does not mean you need to accept the accusations...
No matter how much effort your company puts into developing a harassment-free environment, all it takes is one rude or highly sensitive employee to put your company at risk of harassment complaints. Maybe your naturally flirtatious lead salesperson offends a transfer...
Once upon a time in Texas, a disgruntled employee might settle a dispute with their employer with a gun. Nowadays, most choose a lawsuit as their weapon of choice. As an employer, you need to be alert to this danger. While a lawsuit won’t kill you, it could certainly...
New court decisions have blurred the lines between contractual and extracontractual liability claims in the third party claim context. What was once a purely contractual claim—breach of the duty to defend—has recently evolved into a claim for tort damages in Texas....
What is left of the “Estoppel by Appraisal” doctrine after the Texas Supreme Court’s decisions in Ortiz, Barbara Tech, and Hinojos? On one hand, Ortiz was a very favorable ruling for insurers, holding that payment of an appraisal award effectively bars bad faith claims, absent the rare case proving “independent injury.” See Oscar Ortiz v. State Farm Lloyds, 589 S.W.3d…
