texas law

As an El Paso employment lawyer I see a lot of fired employees who don’t necessarily want to sue for wrongful termination but want to be paid for commission that they believe they are owed but remains unpaid. The law generally says that you are owed the commission unless the commission agreement says that it […]

As a general rule you can sue someone who makes a false statement about you that hurts your reputation subject to certain privileges. You should note that if the statement or reference is true or is an opinion it is not subject to a lawsuit for defamation (libel/slander). A former employer’s response to a prospective

Age discrimination is the most insidious discrimination. A recent government study shows that old workers are systematically discriminated against in employment. Older women received the highest amount of discrimination. This is illegal under both Federal and State law. https://www.theladders.com/p/16251/new-study-proves-it-is-harder-to-find-a-job-as-you-get-older

Wrongful Death—Gross Negligence—Risk Analysis—Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company v. Rogers, ___ S.W.3d ___, 2017 WL 3776837 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2017)—The Workers’ Compensation Act preserves the right of a deceased employee’s survivors to sue for wrongful death caused by an employer’s gross negligence. Tex. Lab. Code 408.001(b). This case outlines the standards and means of proof of

Backpay—Front pay—Mitigation of Damages—Office of the Attorney General of Texas v. Rodriguez, ___ S.W.3d ___, 2017 WL 4586128 (Tex. App.—El Paso 2017)—The employer argued that the plaintiff in this Whistleblower Act case failed to mitigate her damages for purposes of front pay. The court observed that if a plaintiff presents evidence of reasonable efforts to

Civil Service Commissions—Election to Appeal to Hearing Examiner—In re City of Beaumont, 2017 WL 5179785 (Tex. App.—Beaumont 2017) (not for publication)—A suspended firefighter or police officer can choose between appealing to the local civil service commission or to an independent third-party hearing examiner. Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code §§ 143.053, 143.057(a). In this case, the firefighter

Whistleblower Act—Report of Violation of Law—County Immunity from Contract Liability— Patterson v. Marcantel, 2017 WL 4844514 (Tex. App.—Beaumont 2017) (not for publication)—The plaintiff’s alleged report of the violation of internal department policy did not constitute protected whistleblowing because an internal policy is not a “law” for purposes of the Whistleblower Act. The plaintiff’s breach of

Whistleblower Act—Grievance Procedure—Public School Teachers—Whitney v. El Paso Independent School District, ___ S.W.3d ___, 2017 WL 3614149 (Tex. App.—El Paso 2017)—The Whistleblower Act provides that an employee whistleblower must file a grievance with an employer agency before filing a lawsuit under the Act. The termination appeal process set out in the Education Code serves as

Whistleblower Act—Evidence of Retaliatory Intent—Office of the Attorney General of Texas v. Rodriguez, ___ S.W.3d ___, 2017 WL 4586128 (Tex. App.—El Paso 2017)—The usual “whistleblower” involves an employee’s report implicating higher managers who then use their superior managerial power to retaliate against the whistleblower. In this case, however, the whistleblower reported her suspicion of a

Late Wage Payment—Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies—Garrett v. Prologistix, 2017 WL 4782508 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2017) (not for publication)—The Texas Labor Code requires an employer to pay “in full” all wages due to an employee within six days of the termination of employment. Tex. Lab. Code § 61.014. If the employer pays in full a