How the Supreme Court’s Religious Accommodation Decision Impacts Texans In a unanimous ruling on June 29, 2023 in Groff v. DeJoy, the Supreme Court emphasized that employers must grant an employee’s request for a religious accommodation unless doing so would impose a substantial negative impact to the business. This recent clarification from the Supreme Court […]
What to Know About the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) in Texas The long-awaited Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) went into effect Tuesday, June 27, 2023. This exciting new law will increase protections for many pregnant workers who previously may not have been entitled to reasonable accommodations related to their pregnancy under other federal laws. […]
Ross • Scalise EMPLOYMENT LAWYERS retained by employees who have failed to receive their unpaid overtime wages resulting from the Kronos ransomware attack On December 11, 2021, Ultimate Kronos Group (UKG) was subject to ransomware attack which prevented thousands of employers access to time records for their workers. Kronos is a commonly used workforce management platform […]
What qualifies as a Disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Texas Labor Code? The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code protect applicants and employees from being discriminated against at any stage in employment, including job applications, hiring, firing, compensation, leave of absence, and any […]
What is Title VII? Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code protect employees from discrimination mainly on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, and national origin, making it unlawful for an employer to discriminate against an employee or applicant because of these protected classes. […]
What is a Non-Compete? A non-competition agreement is a restriction on an employee’s ability to work in their particular field. These agreements are primarily utilized by employers to protect their goodwill and confidential information. Employers can face a disadvantage in having an employee separate from their company with specific insider knowledge that they may use […]
What is Severance Pay? Some employers may refer to any additional wages given to a former employee following their separation from employment as “severance pay.” Under the Texas Payday Law and prior state court rulings, severance pay is generally defined as additional compensation that the employer has obligated itself to make, either verbally or by […]
What Is Age Discrimination? The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) is a federal law that prohibits discrimination based on age for employees age 40 and over. Unlike Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the ADEA generally applies to private employers of 20 or more employees, rather than just 15 […]
What Constitutes Sexual Harassment in the Workplace? While recent social movements have empowered both women and men alike to break their silence and come forward with their stories of sexual harassment, this kind of harassment is unfortunately an all-too-common occurrence in the workplace. A survey by Stop Street Harassment in 2018 showed that 81% of women […]
How do I prove Wrongful Termination in Texas? Because Texas is an “employment at-will” state, an employer can fire an employee at any time for any lawful reason. Any lawful reason for termination may include a bad reason or no reason at all. However, if an employer fires an employee for an unlawful reason, this […]