In 2012, the Texas Supreme Court rendered an important decision that has the potential to expand an employer’s liability for wrongful termination of employees in Texas. Texas is an at-will employment state where employers have the ability to terminate the employment relationship at any time and for almost any reason. One of the few exceptions […]
Punitive Damages for Employees Terminated for Refusal to Perform an Illegal Act – Malice Required
Who Should Conduct An Investigation Of Employee Misconduct And The Role Of Confidentiality
In our last post, we discussed the reasons for conducting an investigation of employee misconduct. This post addresses who should conduct the investigation and concerns related to confidentiality surrounding investigations of employee misconduct. Who Should Conduct The Investigation? The first step related to investigating a complaint of harassment is to determine who should undertake the […]
Why It Is Important To Have A Written Policy Regarding Investigating Employee Misconduct
A young female employee walks into the office of the Director of Human Resources and states that her older, male supervisor recently made inappropriate sexual remark to her. What does the company do now? The employer should immediately develop a plan to investigate the claim and take appropriate action. Why You Should Investigate Claims Of […]
Trade Secrets: Seeking Injunctive Relief Against Former Employees
One of the most frequently litigated areas in Texas is the utilization or dissemination of trade secrets by a departing employee. There are two basic scenarios. One is where the employee actually took with him certain confidential information of the former employer that he is using in his new position. Second, and perhaps more difficult, […]
A Primer on Covenants Not to Compete in Texas
Article 15 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code is generally referred to as the Covenants Not to Compete Act. The Act has governed covenants not to compete in Texas for over 20 years now. However, a few opinions issued by the Texas Supreme Court over the last eight years have provided greater clarity for […]
In Texas, are Non-Compete Agreements Enforceable?
There is a nasty rumor going around. The rumor is that in Texas, non-compete agreements are not enforceable. Believing this rumor could get employees and those companies that hire employees with non-compete agreements in hot water. The truth is, there are a lot of factors that go into whether a non-compete agreement is enforceable in […]
Retaliation Claims on the Rise
While retaliation claims in employment matters were initially just tacked onto underlying discrimination claims, they are often the more challenging claims to overcome. The Society for Human Resource Management reported that 2010 marked the first year in which employees filed more retaliation claims with the EEOC than race discrimination claims. These claims can be more […]
Employee Termination: Ten Steps to Remember
Texas is an employment at-will state. Therefore, you would think that terminating an employee in Texas should be an easy proposition. After all, you can terminate an employee for any reason, or no reason, as long as you are not doing so for an improper purpose (such as race, gender, etc.). However, the employee termination […]
Three Approaches to Enforcing a Non-Compete in Texas State Court
It’s every employer’s nightmare. Your star salesperson has left the company and started working for a competitor. It gets worse; your IT department confirms that the sales person took the company’s confidential information with them. Employers enforcing a non-compete agreement that is compliant with Texas Business and Commerce Code, section 15.50 has several tools at […]