Free Speech, Due Process and Trial by Jury
A Harris County jury ruled that the Service Employees International Union improperly used aggressive tactics in its efforts to bring organized labor to Houston-based Professional Janitorial Service. In a 10-2 decision, the jury awarded $5.4 million to the cleaning agency. The Houston Chronicle has full details.
The longest pending civil lawsuit in the state of Texas is going to go on quite a bit longer. One of the five lawsuits brought 22 years ago by Dallas firefighters and police officers for back pay was scheduled to start trial Monday, but lawyers for firefighters sought and received a delay until next year. The city of Dallas faces a $2 billion liability if the firefighters and police officers win.
A federal jury in Dallas last Thursday ordered BlueCross BlueShield of Louisiana to pay McKinney-based Encompass Office Solutions $7.5 million for past unpaid services and tortious interference with its business practices. A young trial team from Thompson & Knight led the way for Encompass.
Lawler Foods, a Humble firm celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, has agreed to pay $1 million to compensate hundreds of unsuccessful job seekers after federal officials accused the company of telling black, white and other applicants that it would not hire them in favor of Hispanics.The EEOC sued the company in 2014 for race and national origin discrimination.
Dallas-based BarBri, Inc. continues to violate the Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to properly accommodate blind law students who use BarBri’s online and other services to prepare for the bar exam, a lawsuit filed today in Dallas federal court claims.
Lawsuits related to layoffs and job reductions in the oil patch have dramatically increased during the past 10 months. Employment complaints filed in the Southern and Western districts of Texas hit all-time highs in 2015. If filings during the first six weeks of this year are an indication, 2016 could shatter all records in Texas for lawsuits filed due to job reductions.
A Rockwall jury recently ruled that a local human resources outsourcing company breached its contract with Central Freight Lines to provide workers’ compensation insurance and claims administration services.
Houston trial lawyer John Zavitsanos went after opposing counsel and her “playbook” to win a jury verdict of no wrongdoing for his client, National Oilwell Varco, in a $120 million-dollar employment discrimination lawsuit. (Editor's Warning: This article contains offensive language.)
In a sweeping decision overturning 30 years of precedent defining the joint employer relationship, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently handed unions a major victory, one that could force companies to reevaluate their use of temporary or contract workers and other contractual arrangements such as franchise agreements. This is a critical issue for business.
The DOL issued two substantial pronouncements recently, including a proposed rule increasing the minimum salary to be paid for someone to be exempt and an administrative interpretation that most independent contractor are actually company employees. A huge amount of money is at stake. Employers already experiencing a significant upswing in FLSA cases will witness an acceleration of that trend. The cases, which are typically brought on a class (collective action) base, often involve hundreds or more employees with aggregate claims in the millions.
Minutes after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage Friday, lawyers across Texas say their phones starting ringing with business clients asking a simple question: What do they need to do now? The unanimous answer, according to legal experts, is they need to do a lot and they need to do it fast or possibly pay the consequences. The good news for Texas businesses is that the changes they need to make are neither complicated nor expensive.
A federal appeals court in Virginia has affirmed a lower court’s opinion that rejected discrimination claims that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission brought against Freeman, a Dallas-based marketing solutions firm.
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