Treaty Oak Employers’ Law Blog

The concept of off-duty misconduct and any on-duty punishment that may occur can sometimes be a slippery slope. While there are plenty of instances of people being fired or reprimanded for their off-duty behaviors, there are also instances of terminated employees fighting for reinstatement under the guise that their off-duty

Gossip has a funny way of turning a perfectly friendly workplace into a hostile one. In line with harassment and bullying, gossip can covertly take hold and merely become part of the culture. In an overly digital world, the days of chatting at the water cooler are over, but that

In some situations, an employee may become undesirable to retain in the current position. However, an employer may not have documented the poor performance and may be hesitant to terminate the employee due to fear of litigation. Due to this real concern, it is important to handle poor performance termination issues

When conducting harassment investigations, it is critical to maintaining impartiality. Harassment victims want to know that employers take their complaints seriously, but employees want to know that they will not be harshly judged without a fair process in place. Some ways that employers can maintain impartiality during this process include:

The Americans with Disabilities Act is a civil rights law that protects people with disabilities from discrimination. Under the ADA, potential employees with disabilities must be allowed ample accommodations that would enable them to take part in the application process and the performing of necessary functions of the job. For

For some, a friendly hug might be just that, a warm hug, but for people who are the recipients of unwarranted affection, a hug is much more than that; it violates personal boundaries in the workplace. Therefore, in keeping with strict anti-harassment policies, including sexual harassment, an anti-hug approach is

The first text message was sent in 1992, since then, the world has changed dramatically. Online shopping changed the way retailers operated, Facebook changed the way people kept in touch with their friends and family spread across the globe, and the advent of streaming services changed the way people interacted

Employers are responsible for providing employees with a safe workplace where people can focus on their job and be free of harassment. Some ways to accomplish this goal include: Identify Harassing Conduct To prevent harassment, employers must first explicitly define this type of behavior. The firm may list protected class

The rise of the independent contractor model has brought to light some significant concerns about liability, negligence, and the type of control and screening companies that operate on an independent contractor must adhere to. For example, in 2017, Massachusetts set its sites on Uber and Lyft. Ride-sharing apps tout lower