Texas Employment Law

Description

Texas-Specific Answers to Employment Law Questions

The first and best place to look for employment advice is Laura Franze’s Texas Employment Law. It provides well-supported answers to both common and difficult questions, annotating its suggestions with 3,800 cases and 156 forms.

The book includes over 60 substantive discovery and pleading forms, omission-preventing checklists and outlines, time-saving letters, authoritative jury instructions, dispute-avoiding employment agreements, and artfully-drafted motions.  There are nine well-supported chapters covering all types of employment discrimination – disability, sexual harassment, FMLA, race, sex, and age. It also includes substantive and procedural analysis of the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act and its remedies, over 150 pages on workplace torts, with comprehensive coverage of interference with business interests, violations of business covenants, trade secret and privacy issues, defamation, negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud and more. Authoritative coverage of the traditional issues of wages, hours, and overtime, along with safety and health, employee benefits, unemployment compensation, employer record-keeping and internal policies. Additionally, Texas Employment Law includes the law of employment agreements – written, oral, and implied. Constructive discharge and the Sabine Pilot doctrine. Proper and improper methods of employee selection. Employment-oriented immigration laws and much more.

Authoritative guidance is provided in this detailed analysis of local and federal cases and statutes covering: Employment contracts, Wages, hours & overtime, Employee safety & health, Immigration issues, Pension, Health & welfare benefits, Privacy issues, FMLA Wrongful discharge, Constructive discharge, Sexual harassment, Disability discrimination, Race, sex, and age discrimination, Arbitration of employment claims, and a thorough discussion of whistleblower protection under Sarbanes-Oxley, as well as practical advice on the impact of the law for employers and employees.

The following companies turn to Texas Employment Law for answers to their employment questions: Albertsons, Amoco, Arco, AT&T, Bank One, Bank United of Texas, Blockbuster, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Comerica Bank, Conoco, DART, DFW International Airport, Dr. Pepper / Seven Up, Fujitsu America, Greyhound Lines, La Quinta Inns, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Nokia, Shell, Southwestern Bell, and many more.

With over 1000 pages and access to digital forms via an emailed zip file, Texas Employment Law provides detailed interpretations of the latest employment decisions and offers reasoned guidance, logical strategies and winning procedural approaches to help attorneys maneuver through the maze of new cases and opportunities.

REVISION 19 HIGHLIGHTS

This new edition of Texas Employment Law updates the governing law on a broad range of substantive topics and includes new forms and appendices to help you work more efficiently. The highlights include:

Thoroughly revised and updated chapters, bringing you current on the law governing:

• Sex Discrimination (Ch. 19)
• Sexual Harassment (Ch. 20)
• Race Discrimination (Ch. 22)
• Age Discrimination (Ch. 23)
• Retaliation (Ch. 26)
• Whistleblower Protection Under Sarbanes-Oxley (Ch. 33)
• Texas Whistleblower Act (Ch. 34)

Expanded coverage of these issues:

Immigration-Related Employment Practices (Ch. 7)

• Statute of limitations for timeliness failures re Form I-9
• ICE worksite enforcement actions

Wages, Hours and Overtime (Ch. 9)

• Damages for emotional injury resulting from retaliation in violation of FLSA
• Issues re: workers who maintain irregular hours

Employment Rules and Policies (Ch. 16)

• Why Texas courts refuse to recognize a claim for “negligent investigation”
• What constitutes “concerted activity” according to the NLRB and Fifth Circuit

TCHRA: Procedures and Remedies (Ch. 18)

• When EEOC’s authority to investigate terminates
• Best practice re: pleading a request for attorney’s fees

Disability Discrimination (Ch. 21)

• Work-site attendance as an “essential function” of the job
• Accommodation process — burdens/responsibilities of employer and employee

Discrimination Based on National Origin, Religion, and Other Grounds (Ch. 24)

• When is a “permissive pretext” instruction appropriate?
• Viability of a claim for retaliatory hostile environment

Family and Medical Leave Act (Ch. 25)

• Eligibility for FMLA leave: H1-b foreign nationals; off-site employees
• Whether a chiropractor can be considered a “health care provider”

 New Forms and Appendices, including:

• Original Petition – Libel and Slander (in connection with termination of employment)
• Defendant’s Answer to Plaintiff’s Complaint – ADA
• First Set of Interrogatories to Plaintiff – ADA Failure to Hire Case
• Response To Defendants’ Emergency Motion For Issuance of Letter Rogatory
• Motion for Summary Judgment – FMLA Case; Plaintiff’s Response; Order Denying Motion

ABBREVIATED TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I
THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP
Chapter 1: Employment Relationship Defined
Chapter 2: Written Employment Contracts
Chapter 3: Wrongful Discharge
Chapter 4: Constructive Discharge
[Chapter 5 Reserved]

PART II
PRE-EMPLOYMENT ISSUES
Chapter 6: The Hiring Process
Chapter 7: Immigration-Related Employment Practices
[Chapter 8 Reserved]

PART III
EMPLOYEE COMPENSATION, SAFETY AND BENEFITS
Chapter 9: Wages, Hours, and Overtime
Chapter 10: Employee Safety and Health
[Chapters 11 through 12 Reserved]

PART IV
RECORDS, RULES, AND POLICIES
Chapter 13: Internal Investigations
Chapter 14: Arbitration of Employment Claims
Chapter 15: Employee Records
Chapter 16: Employer Rules and Policies

PART V
DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT
Chapter 17: Employment Discrimination Law—Overview & History
Chapter 18: Texas Commission on Human Rights Act: Procedures and Remedies
Chapter 19: Sex Discrimination
Chapter 20: Sexual Harassment
Chapter 21: Disability Discrimination
Chapter 22: Race Discrimination
Chapter 23: Age Discrimination
Chapter 24: Discrimination Based on National Origin, Religion, and Other Grounds
Chapter 25: Family and Medical Leave Act
Chapter 26: Retaliation
[Chapter 27 Reserved]

PART VI
WORKPLACE TORTS
Chapter 28: Privacy Issues in the Workplace
Chapter 29: Defamation in the Workplace
Chapter 30: Other Workplace Torts
Chapter 31: Discrimination Claims Under Labor Code Chapter 451
Chapter 32: Protection of Business Interests
Chapter 33: Whistleblower Protection Under Sarbanes-Oxley

PART VII
SPECIAL ISSUES RELATING TO GOVERNMENT EMPLOYERS AND GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS
Chapter 34: Texas Whistleblower Act
Chapter 35: Affirmative Action Obligations for Government Contractors
[Chapter 36 Reserved]

PART VIII
SELECTED LITIGATION ISSUES
Chapter 37: Ethical Dilemmas
Chapter 38: Taking the Case
[Chapter 39 Reserved]
Chapter 40: Discovery
Chapter 41: Summary Judgment Practice
[Chapters Reserved]

INDEX

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

James R. (Rod) Tanner is the founding shareholder of Tanner and Associates, PC in Fort Worth, Texas. Mr. Tanner received a Bachelor of Arts with Honors from the University of Texas at Austin and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from The University of Texas School of Law. He has a national labor and employment law practice focusing on civil trials and appeals, complex litigation, administrative proceedings, and collective bargaining. His clients include labor organizations, professionals, employees and public figures. Mr. Tanner is Board Certified in labor and employment law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. Both Texas Lawyer and Thompson Reuters (2003-2018) have recognized him as one of the state’s preeminent labor and employment attorneys. He is a Fellow in The College of Labor and Employment Lawyers, a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, a Founding Member of the Texas Employment Lawyers Association, and a former Director of the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee. Mr. Tanner’s notable cases include Int’l Ass’n of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, Local Lodge 2121 v. Goodrich Corp., and Aiello v. United Air Lines.

Patrick J. Maher is Senior Counsel at Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C., in Dallas, Texas. Mr. Maher is a Fellow in the College of Labor & Employment Law and Board Certified in Labor & Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. He served as Chair of the State Bar of Texas Labor & Employment Law Section and founding Chair of the Labor & Employment Law Section of the Tarrant County Bar Association. Mr. Maher received a B.S. with highest honors from the University of Santa Clara and a J.D. with high honors from the University of Texas School of Law, where he was a Note and Research Editor on the Texas Law Review and a member of the Chancellors and Order of the Coif. Mr. Maher served as Law Clerk to Hon. Joseph Sneed on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He has written and lectured extensively on labor and employment law topics. Mr. Maher is a management labor and employment lawyer and has represented individuals and businesses in numerous individual and class action lawsuits.

Laura M. Franze earned her law degree from Duke University School of Law in 1979. She currently is retired from the practice of law. Ms. Franze was the lead author on the first edition of Texas Employment Law and multiple annual updates to the work. She wrote and updated fourteen chapters, and edited or contributed to many others.