Texas Employment Legal Questions

You should file a claim with TWC/EEOC for age discrimination. If you eventually file suit against them, you could include defamation in your suit along with the age discrimination. Filing the charge with TWC/EEOC may result in a resolution of the case (they pay you a money settlement) so you don't have to file a lawsuit. ... Read More

To be actionable (ie illegal) workplace harassment must be based on an impermissible criteria such as sex, race, age, religion, having filed a workers' compensation claim etc.  Generalized harassment because "the boss is a jerk" or "doesn't like me" is not actionble.  Neither is harassment on some more specific but not illegal ground (e.g. "I want you to quit so I can promote my friend"; "I give preferential treatment to my buddies and treat everyone else poorly", "I hate Dallas Cowboy fans").  So, in order for HR or any any lawyer or court to do anything for your fiance, he'll have to identify the reason that he his being harassed and that reason will have to be an illegal one. Unless he works for a company that has a strong and active HR Department or where the company truly values employees, it is not likely that a report to HR will do any good and it may do harm.  If he can't get transfered to another department within the company, he might consider using the rest of his time there to find a different job.   ... Read More

I assume from your question that you know what is on your record. If not, you are entitled to a copy of it.  You may have to pay a small fee.  Once you know what conviction is on your record, you need to visit with a criminal lawyer in the county in which the conviction originated.  Some convictions, but not all can be expunged or ordered not to be disclosed.  ... Read More

In general, an employee has no right to a day off.  That said, certain industries such as airlines and trucking have regulations about how long certain employees can work.  Safety/OSHA might be a concern as well, but that discussion is too fact intensive for this forum.  An employee does have the right to be paid for all hours worked and any "on-call" time where he is not free to pursue other activities.  If you are properly classified as Salaried/Exempt (from overtime pay) you may just need to find another job if this schedule is not acceptable.  However, you might want to visit with either a labor and employment attorney or the US Department of Labor, Wage/Hour Division (there is one in each major city in Texas) to see if you have been properly classified as salaried or whether you should be hourly and be paid overtime (for hours in excess of 40 each week) and whether your "on-call"  time should be counted as hours worked.... Read More

An employer can cut your pay for future work.  It must inform you that the pay rate has changed before you do the future work in order for the cut to take effect.  An employer cannot cut your pay for work already performed.  If the employer now refuses to pay you the full amount for work you have already performed (ie it did not inform you of the rate cut before you performed the work) then you can file a Payday Act Complaint with the Texas Workforce Commission - labor law department.   You have 180 days from the date of the missed or short payment to file the complaint.  Be aware, the Payday Act does not prohibit employer retaliation.  So you might get your pay but lose your job.  But who would want to work for an employer that cheats its employees?  ... Read More

Your question lacks sufficient facts about the nature of your religious objection to working on a particular day.  In general, an employer can require an employee to work any day of the week.  If you claim that working a partiular day of the week or a particular holy day would violate the tenants of your religion, you would have to show that not working on such date is a requirement of your faith. (Reqirement usually equals "mandatory" not "suggested" and certainly not "personal preference")  You would also have to show that the employer's requirement for you to work on that day was directed at you because of your religion and not for a legitimate business reason.  That might be proved by showing the employer accomodates the religious beliefs of other employees of diffrerent religions.    Otherwise, you should be prepared to work on the day in question or lose your job.  Good luck.... Read More

Depends.  If you are paid by salary and you fit into one of several exemptions from overtime, you are not due any extra compensation for additional hours. If you are paid hourly, you are entitled to be paid for every hour worked and overtime for every hour over 40 in a single week. Contact the US Department of Labor, Wage & Hour Division or the Texas Workforce Commission, Labor Law Department for more information.... Read More

An Texas employer must pay its houly employees no less than twice a month on a regular schedule and its salaried employes no less than once per month.   There is no extension of these deadlines for an employer to make up a short check.  It owes it immediately. There are two options for you.  Texas Workforce Commission - Labor Law Department (Payday Act Complaint) or US Department of Labor Wage & Hour Division.     ... Read More

While your factual situation seems to violate the law, your question doesn't have all the information in it necessary for a definitive answer.  In general, an employer owes overtime at 1.5 times the hourly rate for all hours over 40 in a given week.  There are however arrangments permitted under the law for irregular workweeks with guaranteed rates of pay. Did your employer enter into any type of written agreement with you regarding your hours and pay? If this issue is one that just affects you or you and a couple of people, the most economical route would be to visit the local office of the US Department of Labor, Wage & Hour Division and file a complaint for unpaid overtime.  There is an office in every major city in Texas.  The DFW office is in Arlington. If your employer is treating numerous past and present employees in the company in this manner, you may want to seek out the advice of an experienced labor & employment lawyer (look for someone Board Certified in Labor & Employment Law www.tbls.org) to discuss the filing of a collective action (something of a class action on behalf of all similar employees).... Read More

Unless your company/job is governed by specific regulations (e.g. trucking, avation) or by a union contract that sets maximum hours, there are no limits on the number of hours or consecutive days your employer can require you to work.  You could dream up an OSHA issue if there are safety concerns involved, but that would be fact-specific to you and your job. So mandatory overtime is not illegal. While some employers have their own policies about paying double time (ususally holidays) there is no law that requires them to pay double time.  If your employer makes you work more than 40 hours in a single week (and you are not an exempt employee - professionals, managers, some sales and IT folks), then it is required to pay you 1.5 times your normal hourly rate for each hour over 40.... Read More

If you are correctly classified as a salaried non-exempt employee, there are no limits on the hours you can be required to work (safety issues and industry-specific regulations  or union contacts notwithstanding) However, it is frequent that employers accidentally or intentionally mis-classify workers as salaried in order to avoid paying overtime.  I have dealt with number of cases where employers in the oilfield intentionally misclassified workers. If you have been mis-classified then you are eligible to recieve your overtime for either the last two or three years depending on whether the mis-classification was intentional. If you are not a manager or boss of some kind, you should discuss this case with a qualified labor & employment attorney as soon as possible.... Read More

If you are an employee (as opposed to an independent sales rep) you can file a Payday Act Complaint with the Texas Workforce Commission's Labor Law Department.  If you are not an employee, the only remedy you have is the courts.  A small claims court can handle claims up to $10,000.00 and is easily navigable by a person without an attorney.  Above that amount, you will have to go to one of the bigger courts where, although an attorney is not required, you ought to have one.    ... Read More

Employees who have not been paid wages may file a complaint with the Texas Workforce Commission - Labor Law Department, which will collect them for you.  While free, the process does take a couple of months.  Further, the TWC cannot collect wages that were due to be paid more than 180 days before the date a complaint is filed, so if you are going to use this system, don't delay if there are wages due that are that old or nearing that old. This statute (the Texas Payday Act) does not have any protections against retaliation.  So the Company could fire you for making the complaint.  They will still have to pay you for all time worked. If you choose not to use the TWC process (or if some of the wages due are over 6 mos old) you can sue your employer in court, but you'll have to hire a lawyer or find one who will take a case on a contingent fee.  Getting a lawyer to take such a case might be easier if a large group of the affected employees hired him or her together.  Again, no retalition protection if you go this route either.  But is getting fired from a job that won't pay you such a big deal? A company would have to have a lot of market power to freeze an employee out of the industry for filing a legal claim.  Though you haven't mentioned the name of your employer, I doubt they could carry out that threat unless you are really high up in managment.  There is a little used statute in Texas that prevents an employer from "Blacklisting" an employee.  I don't know the ins and outs of it, because I haven't used it.  But its there. Good luck... Read More

Unless you are an employee of a government entity, your employment file is the employer's property and it is not required to share it with you.  An employer is required to pay only those hours actually worked by a terminated employee.  It is incorrect that the employer is obligated to pay for hours that it scheduled an employee to work before that employee's termination.... Read More

No.  While an employer may always change the rate for work to be performed in the future (and an employee is free to accept that wage or quit) an employer may not change the promised wage rate once the work has been performed. Assuming the employer is not otherwise willing to correct the issue, your most economical method to collect the unpaid wages is by filing a Payday Act Complaint through the Texas Workforce Commission's Labor Law Department.  Be aware that statute does not contain any retaliation protections, so the employer may fire your daughter for invoking it, but it sounds like she probably shouldn't continue work there in any event. Good luck.... Read More

Go to Lawyers.com or Martindale.com (same company, two different sites) and look up employment lawyers.  You'll need to discern from their websites or the text of their listing whether or not they represent employers or employee.  Some lawyers do one or the other exclusively. Also check the Texas Board of Legal Specialization (tbls.org) for lawyers that are board certified in labor and employment law.  You can filter your search by geographic area.  Same caveat as above.... Read More

Probalby not. But just so we're clear on a couple of things: 1) Overtime is governed by federal law under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) 2) For most employers, the FLSA says that employees must be paid at a rate of 1.5 times their regular houly rate for all hours worked in excess of 40 each week 3) This means that overtime does not kick in until an employee has worked 40 hours in a week.  So if an employer worked an employee 10 hours per day for 4 days and then let her have the rest of the week off, no overtime would be due. 4) There are some execeptions for professional and managment salaried employee, but they don't sound like they apply to your question.  I have never heard of an employer paying a declining overtime rate based on the number of overtime hours worked.  I have no reason to think it is legal.  If this is just happening to you, I suggest you report the situation to the US Department of Labor, Wage & Hour Division.  There is an office in each major city in Texas (DFW is in Arlington).  https://www.dol.gov/whd/america2.htm#Texas.  They will investigate and try to recover the unpaid wages. If this has happened to many employees in your company, you may also consider gathering 3-5 of them and seeking out an attorney with experince in bringing a collective action (kind of a class action) under the FLSA on behalf of all employees that were treated in this manner.  The penalty to the employer is 2x the unpaid wages (for up to 3 years) plus attorneys fees.... Read More

Most employers (More than $500k in Gross Revenue and Dealing in Interstate Commerce) are covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act, which requires employers to pay 1.5 times the employee's hourly rate for all hours worked in excess of 40 in a given week.  This applies to all workers who are not exempt (mangers, owners, professionals and a bunch of others) If you are the only employee being treated in this fashion, you might consider filing a complaint with the US Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division.  There is an office in each major city in Texas. (Arlington for Dallas and Fort Worth).  They do a pretty decent job of collecting unpaid overtime. If there are many employees who are being treated similarly to you (More than 10 or so) you might also consider contacting a local attorney experienced in overtime pay matters (the law is kind of complicated, so this is not the kind of case you take to one of the TV car wreck lawyers) Good luck.  ... Read More