On November 10, 2023, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed into law Senate Bill 7, which prohibits private employers in Texas from imposing vaccine mandates that require employees and/or contractors to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine....more
12/20/2023
/ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employer Mandates ,
Employment Policies ,
Florida ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Reform ,
Texas ,
Vaccinations ,
Workplace Safety
On October 11, 2023, the Fifth Circuit issued the first decision applying its broadened standard for Title VII claims in Narayanann v. Midwestern State University. The unanimous three judge panel ruled that a Malaysian...more
As a result of a recent Fifth Circuit decision, some employers in Texas will now face a tougher hurdle when defending against Title VII disparate treatment discrimination claims in federal court. The United States Court of...more
The State of Texas infrequently regulates the workplace. This summer, however, Texas enacted two notable workplace laws about which employers should be aware....more
7/10/2023
/ Dress Codes ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal v State Law Application ,
Hairstyle Discrimination ,
Labor Code ,
Labor Reform ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Discrimination Rules ,
Preemption ,
Regulatory Authority ,
State Constitutions ,
State Labor Laws ,
Texas
This week, we examine best practices for crafting flexible work arrangement policies. Requests to continue working remotely or with flexibility remain high as we emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Crafting Flexible Work...more
On Monday, October 11, 2021, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued Executive Order GA-40 (the “Order”) prohibiting vaccine mandates by any entity. The Order, which was effective upon issuance, states: “No entity in Texas can...more
In the wake of the #MeToo movement, Texas joins a growing number of states enacting legislation that enhances employee protections against sexual harassment in the workplace. Effective September 1, 2021, any Texas employer...more
8/23/2021
/ #MeToo ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Corporate Culture ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Harassment ,
Hostile Environment ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Sex Discrimination ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Texas
For the last two weeks, Texas is continuing to break records for daily coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, on June 23, 2020 Texas had the highest daily number of...more
On April 27, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a lower court’s decision to grant a preliminary injunction preventing a real estate agent from working for a competitor, because her non-compete,...more
Texas has undertaken one of the earliest and most expansive initiatives to reopen businesses throughout the state....more
As we previously reported, on Monday, April 27, 2020, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced Phase One of his much anticipated plan to reopen Texas while minimizing the spread of COVID-19....more
On Monday, April 27, 2020, Governor Gregory Abbott announced Phase One of his much anticipated plan to reopen Texas, while minimizing the spread of COVID-19. ...more
As we previously reported, Texas cities have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by issuing “Stay at Home” Orders, essentially halting all non-essential business operations that cannot be conducted remotely. ...more
On March 13, 2020, Governor Greg Abbott declared a State of Disaster in Texas due to COVID-19. Subsequently, on March 19. 2020, Governor Abbott issued a Public Health Disaster Declaration, and an Executive Order, which, among...more
The Texas Workforce Commission (“TWC”), the agency responsible for administering unemployment benefits and assessing unemployment taxes, recently adopted a rule (“Rule”) pursuant to which certain workers who provide services...more
7/22/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Digital Marketplace ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
NLRA ,
NLRB ,
State Labor Laws ,
Texas ,
Unemployment Insurance ,
Wage and Hour ,
Websites
On April 24, 2019, Dallas became the latest and third Texas city to pass an Ordinance (“Law”) requiring private employers to provide paid sick leave to their employees. The Law is scheduled to take effect on August 1, 2019,...more
6/11/2019
/ Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Earned Sick Time ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Policies ,
Local Ordinance ,
Notice Requirements ,
Paid Leave ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Sick Leave ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
On July 21, 2014, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") released a policy memorandum ("PM"), dated July 11, 2014, which provided the first new guidance on H-1B eligibility for nurses in 12 years!...more
We confirmed today that the U.S. Embassy and Consulates in Canada all will limit nonimmigrant visa appointments by third-country nationals (TCNs) not working and residing in Canada for the summer due to staffing concerns...more
DHS Proposes to Issue Employment Authorization to Certain H-4 Spouses -
On May 12, 2014, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") proposed a rule that would authorize employment authorization for certain H-4...more
I. USCIS Reaches Fiscal Year 2015 H-1B Cap -
As most H-1B employers know, there is an annual quota on the number of new H-1B petitions that can be approved each federal fiscal year. The quota is 65,000 for regular H-1B...more
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") announced today that it has received a sufficient number of H-1B petitions to reach the statutory cap for fiscal year ("FY") 2015. USCIS also announced that it had received...more
I. H-1B Nonimmigrant Season Opens on April 1, 2014, for Fiscal Year 2015 -
As most H-1B employers know, there is an annual quota on the number of new H-1B petitions that can be approved each federal fiscal year. The...more
2/4/2014
/ Affordable Care Act ,
E-2 ,
E-3 ,
Employee Rights ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Foreign Nationals ,
Form I-9 ,
H-1B ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) ,
Non-Immigrant Visas ,
OCAHO ,
Termination ,
Undocumented Immigrants ,
US Department of State ,
USCIS ,
Visas
I. USCIS Instructs on Immigration Benefits for Same-Sex Spouses -
On June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States ("SCOTUS") held that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act ("DOMA") was unconstitutional....more
10/30/2013
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discrimination ,
DOMA ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Form I-9 ,
Green Cards ,
Immigrants ,
Immigration Reform ,
Marriage ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
US Department of State ,
US v Windsor ,
USCIS ,
Visas
The Department of State ("DOS") has announced the registration period for the DV-2015 Diversity Visa ("DV-2015") lottery. It will begin on Tuesday, October 1, 2013, at 12:00 p.m. EDT (GMT-4), and will conclude on Saturday,...more
The looming prospect of a Government shutdown will have a significant impact on the immigration process. Activities of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will be largely unaffected because it is funded by...more