Texas has largely avoided the wave of marijuana legalization sweeping the country and the accompanying legal complications that have come along for the ride. Those days may be numbered as the Texas Legislature recently passed...more
9/5/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Cannabidiol (CBD) oil ,
Cannabis Products ,
Decriminalization of Marijuana ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Drug Testing ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Hemp ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Foods ,
Medical Marijuana ,
New Legislation ,
Plant Based Products ,
Popular ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws
Protecting your trade secrets and proprietary information is a vital part of your business. Every company needs to have policies and agreements in place to prevent employees from stealing property, and wrongfully soliciting...more
8/9/2018
/ Confidentiality Agreements ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Intellectual Property Protection ,
Misappropriation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
Proprietary Information ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Risk Management ,
Trade Secrets
The Harvey Weinstein case has brought a spotlight to a problem that has plagued not only Hollywood but other professions as well. While Corporate America has largely cleaned up its act and instituted robust anti-harassment...more
The enforceability of employee restrictions on competition has traditionally been up the states, with some, like California, largely banning such agreements, while others, like Texas, allowing them with reasonable...more
Texas and many other states in the South have passed state laws in recent years restricting employers from terminating employees who keep their lawfully-licensed concealed handgun locked in their vehicle. For the most part,...more
8/11/2016
/ Appeals ,
At-Will Employment ,
Concealed Weapons ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer No-Weapons Policies ,
Firearms ,
Gun Laws ,
Guns-in-Trunks Legislation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Public Policy ,
Reversal ,
Wrongful Termination
This week ESPN fired pitcher-turned-broadcaster Kurt Schilling for an allegedly offensive tweet about the recently passed law in North Carolina requiring persons to use the restroom associated with the sex of their birth. As...more
Last week, President Obama announced yet another executive order, this one removing questions about an applicant’s criminal history from applications for federal jobs. Similar laws have been passed in cities and states across...more
Recently, the news has been filled with employees who refuse to perform their duties based on political, moral, or religious beliefs. Kentucky clerk Kim Davis was jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same sex...more
First, let me say that most shootings (including the recent incident in Virginia) are random acts of violence by crazy people. It is difficult, if not impossible, to predict when an employee will snap, or whether an...more
8/31/2015
/ Background Checks ,
Criminal Background Checks ,
Defamation ,
Discrimination ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Mass Shootings ,
Negligence ,
Popular ,
Reference Checks
As more states jump on the medical marijuana bandwagon, employers are faced with increasing questions about how these changes in the law affect drug testing policies. The conventional wisdom has been that medical marijuana...more
6/24/2015
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Dish Network ,
Drug Testing ,
Employment Policies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Lawful Activities Act ,
Marijuana ,
Medical Marijuana ,
Off-Duty Employees ,
Termination ,
Zero Tolerance Policies
The EEOC has taken a lot of heat on its controversial stance of aggressively litigating adverse impact cases involving background checks. In April, 2012, the EEOC issued a new enforcement guidance seeking to curtail the uses...more
Unfortunately, when the price of oil goes down, the employment numbers also move downward in Houston. Many clients in the oil and gas industry are either planning or considering downsizing measures, which means that it is a...more