Forms and Policies

Don’t Show a Texas Employee His File

Tuesday, March 10th, 2009

Let me be clear: Private employers in Texas do not have to allow employees to see their personnel files. That’s right. I don’t care what other states do, or what they show on TV. The law in Texas is that the file belongs to the employer and the employee cannot demand to see it.
That being [...]

Cupid at Work? Bah humbug!

Wednesday, February 11th, 2009

Reuters published a story today about a CareerBuilders.com survey on workplace romances. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, 40% of American workers admit that they have dated a coworker. Another 10% say there is a coworker they would like to date. Interestingly only 5% of women want to date a coworker while 14% of men [...]

Final Paychecks in Texas

Friday, January 23rd, 2009

I get lots of questions about final paychecks in Texas, so I thought I would give you a quick review of the Texas Payday Law.
Your employees must receive their final paychecks on the sixth calendar day after they are laid off, discharged, fired or otherwise terminated involuntarily, or on the next regular payday if they [...]

Employee Acknowledgment Form

Friday, August 22nd, 2008

If you haven’t discovered the Texas Workforce Commission’s book Especially for Texas Employers, you are missing out on an invaluable and free resource to help you avoid costly legal mistakes in managing your employees. You can get a hard copy of the book at Panhandle Workforce Solutions at 1206 W. 7th Street in Amarillo. There [...]

Cell Phone Policy

Friday, August 15th, 2008

I love my smartphone, which acts as my phone, my calendar, my to do list, my address book, my e-mail server, etc. My clients know that my cell phone is always on and that they can call me anytime of the day or night. I took client calls while on the Washington, D.C. metro system [...]

Salary Advance Form

Friday, July 25th, 2008

In Texas and most states, an employer cannot deduct anything (except taxes) from an employee’s paycheck without written authorization from the employee. I often see this rule violated when it comes to salary advances. If you ever want to be repaid for a salary advance, use this or a similar form to get a very [...]

Required Employee Posters

Friday, July 18th, 2008

For this week’s Friday Form, I thought I would provide you with the links for many of the employee rights notices that you as an employer should have posted in your workplace.
Most of the necessary posters are available free from the agencies that require them, so don’t bother paying money to a commercial vendor for [...]

Employee Resignation Form

Friday, July 11th, 2008

I’m thinking of putting a form or policy online each Friday to help you as a Texas employer. Let me know what you think of that idea by leaving a comment.
Last Friday I posted a written warning form that you can adapt for your Texas business. This week I decided that I would post a [...]