Texas has long allowed licensed citizens to carry concealed handguns, but in 2016 Texas will allow “open carry” for the first time. For employers, this means dusting off the gun policies and signs on your front doors to address the…
Yearly Archives: 2015
New Year Brings New Gun Laws in Texas
Tagged with: CHL, Concealed Carry, Open Carry, Texas Gun Laws
Posted in Labor & Employment, Wage and Hour
Posted in Labor & Employment, Wage and Hour
HR Trouble at Holiday Parties
It’s that time of the year when HR professionals are crossing their fingers and hoping they don’t have to terminate anyone for misconduct at the company holiday party. Fox 26 in Houston interviewed me about the suggested tips for staying…
Posted in Uncategorized
Don’t Let Politics Disrupt Your Workplace
I recently wrote an article for the Houston Business Journal on this subject, which can be found here. With the 2016 election campaign already going strong, now is a good time to review company policies in this area to ensure…
Posted in Uncategorized
Ban the Box Gaining Momentum
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 the country, including New Jersey, where the…
Posted in Uncategorized
NLRB’s Position on Social Media Finally Hitting the Courts
It is common knowledge that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has taken an aggressive position on employee use of social media constituting protected concerted activity. In the last few years, the NLRB has repeatedly found that employee speech on…
Posted in Uncategorized
Conscientious Objectors in the Workplace
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 couples following the ruling…
Posted in Uncategorized
Virginia Shooting Raises Questions About Background Checks
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 ex-employee is likely…
Yelp Reviewers Are Not “Employees”
In a world where the lines between employees and volunteers/interns are becoming increasingly blurred, it is nice to see at least one court easily dispense with a wage and hour lawsuit. On August 13, 2015, a federal judge in San Francisco…
Unions Want Exemption from $15 Minimum Wage
Apparently, Unions in Los Angeles are big believers in “Do What I say, Not What I Do.” Los Angeles recently joined a number of liberal cities in passing a bill that would raise minimum wage to $15 by 2020. Now,…
Department of Labor Issues Proposed Rule on Overtime
As we have noted for months on this blog, the Department of Labor (DOL) has been hard at work on proposed changes to the overtime regulations. Everyone knew the minimum salary threshold for exempt status was going to be raised,…
Posted in Uncategorized
