Employment Lawyer Houston and Austin, TX

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a federal law which requires most employees who work more than 40 hours in a week to receive overtime pay. This law is often ignored or misapplied by employers. Employees often fail to receive payment of overtime wages to which they are legally entitled.

Common misconceptions are that all salaried employees, licensed professionals, and independent contractors are not entitled to overtime. While these assumptions are sometimes true, they often are not and the worker is unlawfully denied earned wages. A Texas unpaid wages lawyer with our firm will help you recover these lost wages when they are legally owed to you.

Many states, such as Texas, are “employment at-will” states. This generally means that an employer can terminate an employee at any time for any lawful reason. This does not mean that an employer can terminate an employee for any reason. A variety of state and federal laws protect employees from discrimination in the workplace.

Take Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as an example. This law makes it illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Discrimination involves treating someone (an applicant or employee) unfavorably because they are of a certain race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. This law forbids discrimination when it comes to any aspect of employment. This includes hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoff, training, fringe benefits, and any other term or condition of employment.

I Think I’m Being Discriminated Against. How Can I Know for Sure?

Rude comments and bad attitudes, while unpleasant, do not have enough weight to justify discrimination lawsuits. Discrimination can occur during any part of the employment process from hiring to termination. This can make it difficult for employees to pinpoint or prove. So, what are the telltale signs that you may be experiencing discrimination based on your race, gender, age, or other factors? Some examples of both direct and indirect discrimination include the following.

• Unfair disciplinary actions against an employee for complaints about salaries, harassment, or discrimination
• Wage gaps and unequal pay between two employees with the same experience in the same position who are of a different gender, race, age, etc.
• Unfair promotion choices, such as an employer passing you over for a position that you are well qualified for in favor of someone with little experience
• Offensive or demeaning comments about your race, age, gender, or other protected classification. These can devolve into creating a hostile work environment.
• Inappropriate questions during an interview, such as those about your age, gender, sexuality, or even about a disability
• Clear lack of diversity, meaning most or all of the employees are homogenous in terms of age, gender, race, or other protected characteristics

How Do I Prove Workplace Discrimination?

If you can identify the signs of workplace discrimination, the next step is to gather evidence in order to prove it. Generally speaking, there are three types of evidence you can gather to support your claim of discrimination: direct evidence, circumstantial evidence, and pattern and practice evidence.

• Direct Evidence: This type of evidence is powerful in court, as it can easily show discrimination without making any assumptions about the employer’s actions or intent. One obvious example is an employee receiving an email that they were passed up for a promotion because of their age. This email would be a form of direct evidence. Unfortunately, direct evidence is difficult to find, as employers are well-aware of the consequences of being overtly discriminatory.
• Circumstantial Evidence: While circumstantial evidence is easier to come by, it holds less weight in court. That isn’t to say, however, that it has no use. In fact, many employees use many pieces of circumstantial evidence to prove their case. This type of evidence is proven by assumptions or inferences rather than direct facts.
• Pattern and Practice Evidence: This form of evidence is fairly straightforward, but it may require substantial research. Its purpose is to show that an employer has a pattern of discrimination against certain types of employees based on their protected class status.

Whistleblowers serve a very important role in society. Employees who report an employer’s illegal or unethical conduct protect others from financial fraud and physical danger. Therefore, to encourage employees to report illegal activity, financial fraud, and safety violations, the government has enacted “whistleblower” laws to protect (and sometimes compensate) employees who report such conduct. Examples of protected whistleblower activities are:

• Reporting the falsification of financial documents and other fraudulent accounting activities by corporations.
• Notifying authorities of safety and environmental concerns to agencies such as OSHA.
• Reporting Medicaid fraud and other illegal billing practices by hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare providers.
• Notifying relevant authorities by physicians, nurses, and other healthcare workers of abuse, neglect, or other substandard medical care provided to patients.
• Employees that notify relevant authorities of these types of violations are protected from adverse employment actions.

Many states, including Texas, are employment at-will states. However, employment and other business relationships may not be terminated in violation of enforceable contracts. Licensed professionals are often employed or otherwise associated with a group or partnership by means of a valid enforceable contract. When that individual is terminated or ousted from their group, they will have legal remedies available such as claims for money damages and possibly injunctive relief. Our qualified Texas employment law attorneys can assist clients in this area of the law.

Employment agreements often contain provisions prohibiting an employee from practicing their chosen profession. It is usually within a particular geographic region for a certain amount of time. These agreements may also seek to prohibit the solicitation of the former employer’s clients or patients. It could also prohibit the disclosure of its confidential information, and the “raiding” of its employees.

Enforcement of these non-compete agreements can effectively deny a person the ability to earn a living in some cases. The law in this area is complicated and open to various interpretations depending on any given factual scenario. The law is even more complicated when it comes to non-compete agreements when they pertain to physicians. Whether these agreements are enforceable turns on a number of different factors.

Our Texas employment law attorneys are qualified to counsel clients regarding these issues. We challenge the enforcement of these agreements under the appropriate circumstances.

In some situations, it is illegal for employers to fire their employees. This is called wrongful termination. There are many reasons that the law might consider a termination wrongful. The most common scenarios include the following.

• The employer is in violation of terms of the employee’s employment contract by firing him or her. This scenario is also a breach of contract issue.
• Termination is motivated by illegal discrimination.
• The employer is retaliating against a worker after they filed a workers’ compensation claim.
• Termination is in retaliation against an employee’s whistleblower complaint, or an employee’s refusal to perform an illegal act.

As you can see from the above examples, wrongful termination cases often go hand-in-hand with other labor and employment law violations. Our attorneys are incredibly skilled and knowledgeable when it comes to employment law, so we are uniquely qualified to tackle even the most complex cases.

The most common fair pay issues concern:

• Overtime pay
• Minimum wages and commissions (The current minimum wage in Texas is $7.25 an hour.)
• Issues related to tipped employees and commission employees
• Equal pay for men and women
• Alterations to benefits

Many workers are entitled to minimum wage and overtime wages. Yet, their employers try to bend the rules in order to deprive their employees of their hard-earned wages.

For example, there are special laws for tipped employees. If part of your wages regularly includes tips, the total of your tips plus your hourly rate must be at least the minimum wage requirement for your state. You are also eligible for overtime. However, the overtime calculation is sometimes different than it is for other types of workers. If your employer does not pay minimum wage to their employees, they could face a serious lawsuit.

Possible Employer Violations

Employers often use illegal means to deny their workers the additional overtime pay they earned. Common violations include:

• Denying overtime to salaried employees. Receiving a salary, rather than an hourly wage, does not automatically exempt you from overtime pay.
• Paying flat rates, day rates, or shift rates instead of considering how many hours the employee worked, therefore failing to pay additional time and one-half for overtime.
• Improperly labeling a worker as an independent contractor when they are not. Agreeing to contract work does not necessarily mean you are barred from receiving overtime pay.
• Improperly applying overtime exemptions. The title of “supervisor” or “manager” does not mean you are not entitled to overtime pay.
• Failing to pay for time spent working off the clock, before and after scheduled work shifts. Employers generally must pay workers for travel time from the shop to their first job site, travel time between job sites, meetings (including safety meetings), prep time before jobs, and paperwork done at home.
• Not including bonuses and extra pay in overtime calculations.

Workers should get the compensation they deserve for their hard work, and employers should compensate their work fully. If your employer has short changed your paycheck, contact an unpaid overtime lawyer at Leichter Law. We will ensure that you receive the compensation you deserve.

Some employers attempt to reduce their tax liability and deprive their workers of fair wages and benefits by misclassifying them as independent contractors.

Independent contractors enjoy few, if any, protections under federal and state law against:

• Wrongful termination
• Unlawful discrimination
• Harassment
• Retaliation

Independent contractors are not treated like employees. Independent contractors are usually ineligible to participate in valuable company-sponsored benefits, such as stock options, 401(k), group health insurance, or other fringe benefits. Many companies use this tactic to save money at the expense of their employees.

Most companies provide an employee handbook with a policy statement on harassment and discrimination in the workplace. They establish reasonable policies on harassment in order to comply with Federal Labor Laws and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. If you have faced sexual harassment at work, you should contact an employment law attorney to learn about your legal rights in a workplace sexual harassment situation.

What Should I Do if I’ve Been Sexually Harassed at Work?

Contact an employment lawyer as soon as possible. Sexual harassment in the workplace is a very serious matter that can affect anyone in the workplace regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation. Many people still don’t fully understand what qualifies as workplace sexual harassment. In general, there are two forms of workplace sexual harassment.

• Quid Pro Quo: This involves a coworker, generally a manager or supervisor, offering or asking for sexual favors in exchange for promotions, pay raises, or other benefits. Even if an employee agrees to the proposition out of fear of termination or retaliation, this behavior still qualifies as quid pro quo sexual harassment.
• Hostile Work Environment: If a coworker makes sexually suggestive comments to you, touches you inappropriately, or exhibits intimidating behavior toward you because of your gender identity, this can constitute a hostile work environment. Remember that the behaviors must be “severe and pervasive,” meaning the harassment affects your ability to do your job. You can also experience a hostile work environment if your employer treats you less favorably than others because of your gender identity.

Can I Get Fired for Reporting Sexual Harassment?

No. It is illegal for an employee to fire you for reporting sexual harassment. You are protected against termination by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and by Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code. If you were fired in retaliation for reporting sexual harassment, you have the basis for a retaliation claim. We strongly recommend hiring a workplace retaliation lawyer in Texas to handle your case.