Texas Employment Blog

Marble Falls-based Granite Mesa Legend Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center fired a certified nurse assistant when he told the facility he was HIV-positive, the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) claimed in a lawsuit filed last Tuesday, October 4. According to the lawsuit, Granite Mesa Health Center, Ltd. unlawfully required a medical examination of a member […]

President Obama announced on Thursday, September 29 that his administration will be implementing a new rule to extend sick leave to almost 600,000 workers who currently lack the benefit. Workers will now be earning up to seven sick days in a year. In an interview with Slate, Obama outlined the importance of the new rule, saying: […]

President Barack Obama recently updated regulations determining which employees are eligible for overtime under the Fair Labor Standard Act’s minimum wage and overtime pay protections. The Department of Labor’s new and improved overtime rule, which was issued in May 2016, will be implemented in December of 2016. However, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says the new rule is […]

Illinois will officially implement the Employee Sick Leave Act on January 1, 2017. The new act requires employers to grant sick pay for employees whose immediate family members find themselves ill. This new policy can also be thought of as the “kin care” law. The intention of the law is to complement the one recently passed in Chicago, which provides the […]

A new resolution that seeks to include worker protections was approved by the City Council of Austin on Thursday, September 1. The Council added the resolution to a new program intended to expedite the permit process for construction projects. The worker protections include mandating that construction workers be paid a living wage of $13.03 per hour, receive proper […]

Houston resident Meseret Mesfin is suing the Reconstructive Orthopedic Center of Houston, claiming that it is guilty of unlawful employment practices in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Family Medical Leave Act. According to the lawsuit, which was filed August 9th, Mesfin took medical leave for a serious condition with the consent of her […]

Kelley Rieves, a former assistant manager for Buc-ee’s, was sued by her employer in the 165th State District Civil Court for breach of contract. Buc-ee’s claims that Rieves allegedly left the company in July 2012 even though her contract clearly stated that she should remain employed with Buc-ee’s until at least August 2013. According to the lawsuit, […]

Austin Watershed Protection Department Managing Engineer Mapi Vigil, who worked for the City of Austin for close to 30 years, sued the city for gender discrimination. The lawsuit came after Vigil applied for an assistant director position but was passed over for a male candidate, despite her high performance reviews and years of loyalty. Vigil filed an internal grievance […]

The United States Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB), in a 60-page report issued last Tuesday, August 2 showed that San Antonio, Texas-based petroleum refineries company Tesoro Corp. failed to follow basic safety procedures over a period of many years that caused 19 employees to be injured or be exposed to injury. The Golden […]

The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a lawsuit on Thursday, July 21 in the United States District Court in Urbana. They are fighting on behalf of a former employee against a branch of the furniture company Rent-A-Center. Both the employee and EEOC allege that the 1404 E. Grove Avenue location in Rantoul, Illinois […]