Natalie Lynch, one of Austin’s foremost labor and employment attorneys and the managing member of the Treaty Oak ELG, recently shared her time and expertise at the Texas Unites for Animals Conference. The annual conference is the heart of Texas Unites’ mission. Every year, over 500 animal welfare professionals from
How do you define the point of an investigation? This is probably a cross between what the reporting party cares about and what your client cares about. So, it could be the case that your reporting party is wrapped up in something that the employer doesn’t care about. People… The
How Can Employers Protect Themselves from Claims of Retaliation? In a recent labor and employment case heard in federal court, a Houston jury awarded $365,000,000 in punitive damages and more than $1,000,000 in compensatory damages to a woman who accused her employer of retaliation. The plaintiff claimed that the defendant
What do you do when you’re physically afraid of someone? A lot, I hope, because there are probably reasons that you’re so scared of this person, so hopefully, you can have a second investigator in the room. Hopefully, you can get personal protection to attend the meeting. Again, depending on
In Texas, labor laws regarding overtime are outlined by the Fair Labor Standards Act or FLSA. The FLSA establishes wage and hour laws at the federal level. FLSA regulations define an “exempt employee” as a worker who is not entitled to be compensated for working more than a 40-hour week and
What do you do if you need to talk to somebody and they want their parents to come? Again, it is not your call, it is the employer’s call. However, they’re going to ask you what you think. So, if the kid is a minor, that can be tricky. And
What do you do if someone you need to talk to is on FMLA? https://youtu.be/s_Uk6Pp8Ric You do what your client tells you to do. So, most investigators are not also FMLA experts. I do realize those both fall under employment law, so some of us are, but most people are
As economists continue to speculate about the possibility of a global recession, many employers are already looking for ways to reduce costs. Decreases in corporate expenditures often include layoffs in the workforce, and we have seen the recent news regarding significant staff reductions by tech giants Twitter and Facebook. Amazon,
What do you do if somebody brings up other workplace complaints during their interview with you about a separate issue? If it’s a very, very unrelated issue, you can ask the person, “Do you understand how to make a report in your investigation appropriately?” Usually, by the time I’ve gotten
Progressive discipline is a well-documented and step-by-step process for dealing with employees whose job performance does not meet the expected and communicated standards of the organization. The primary goal of this process is to provide the employee with an opportunity to correct and improve their performance. It is also intended to get
