Employment Law Issues to Consider Before Reopening Your Business
In Texas, many businesses have started the process of reopening after stay-at-home orders designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infections have been lifted. As many employers consider reopening their businesses in Dallas and throughout Texas, it is important to consider a variety of legal and liability issues that could impact your business. While distinct […]
A Season of Change for Human Resources
On Saturday, June 20, we marked the official start of summer. That day is known as the summer solstice, the longest day of the year and the day on which the sun reaches its highest and northernmost points in the sky. With the start of summer, we close out spring and we turn to thoughts […]
US Supreme Court Issues LGBT Discrimination Decision
On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 6-3 opinion in which the Court extended Title VII’s anti-discrimination protections to LGBT workers. Justice Gorsuch authored the majority opinion and was joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, and Kagan. The majority decided the case on a very simple basis – […]
Protect Against Sexual Harassment Claims for Remote Work
Now that businesses throughout the Dallas area have shifted to remote work as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, many employees find themselves working online from home. Meetings that may have been held in-person within the office setting or around a workplace conference table have now shifted to Zoom or other virtual meeting platforms. Yet, […]
Can I Require Employees to Wear Masks or Other Equipment?
** This post was originally made in May 2020 but has been updated due to recent changes. Be aware that as a result of the fluid situation involving COVID-19, the below is up to date as of late June 2020. Things could change that affect the below. We will do our best to update but […]
The SP Opinion: Reconsider Progressive Discipline
Progressive discipline dates back almost 100 years and is considered standard procedure for the vast majority of employers. If you fall in the majority, have you stopped to consider why you use a progressive discipline policy and whether it is time for a change? The idea of a progressive discipline policy is to give employees […]
Planning for the Return to Work
While no one knows when the local, state, and federal governments will allow all employees to return to the office and conduct business as “normal,” we do know that at some point in that future that will occur. Anticipating now the issues you’ll face as you consider bringing back employees is critical to ensuring a […]
Safe Place to Work? Issues to Consider with Your Remote Workers
In March, numerous businesses were forced to close their physical offices and create work from home opportunities for their employees to ensure efficient operations continued. For some companies that had already converted to a virtual remote workspace, this transition was easy. For the majority of businesses, however, this was unexpected and presented numerous growing pains. […]
Dallas Paid Sick Leave Update
On the eve of the first day of enforcement for the Dallas Paid Sick Leave law, Judge Sean Jordan of the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Texas issued a temporary injunction stopping application and enforcement of the law. So what does this mean for companies with employees that were subject to the […]
Enforceability of Employment Arbitration Agreements
If you are hiring new employees or developing a new employment contract, you may be wondering if you put an arbitration agreement in the contract. For many employers, arbitration agreements are preferable for resolving employment disputes that may arise at a later date. However, it is extremely important for employers to ensure that arbitration agreements […]
