by Mark Smith | May 19, 2015 | Blog, Corporate Law, Employment Law
What Employers and HR Departments Must Do After the Boyer-Liberto Harassment Decision When the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held, in Boyer-Liberto v. Fountainebleau, that, “one or two uses of a racial slur could be ‘severe’ enough for a harassment...
by Mark Smith | May 17, 2015 | Blog, Corporate Law, Employment Law
NLRB Social Media Rulings Triple Play Sports Bar and Grille, Nos. 34-CA-012915, 34-CA-012926 (N.L.R.B. Aug. 22, 2014) Facts: Two employees had a discussion on Facebook criticizing the employer’s failure to withhold the proper amount of state income tax from their...
by Mark Smith | May 17, 2015 | Blog, Corporate Law, Employment Law
8 ways your employee handbook language may be unlawful: what to look for and ways to avoid potential violations Most employers do not draft employee handbooks aiming to restrict activity protected by the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”)—but even well intentioned,...
by Mark Smith | Jan 18, 2015 | Blog, Employment Law
Most people know that Texas is an “at-will” employment state. Essentially, that means employers or employees can terminate an employment relationship at any time for almost any reason. Almost, because federal, state, and local laws protect certain classes...
by Mark Smith | Jan 11, 2015 | Blog, Employment Law
One interesting omission from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is its failure to define “work” and what constitutes time for which an employee is entitled to compensation. As a result, the subject of what is and is not compensable time has been...
by Mark Smith | Dec 29, 2014 | Blog, Employment Law
Wage Deductions: The Right and Wrong Way The threat of docking pay may be a common one that employers use when faced with employee misconduct or policy violation. Unfortunately, deducting wages from an employee’s paycheck is a highly regulated proposition. The...
