Archive for July, 2008

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How to be a Christian Employee

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008

Note: An edited version of this article ran in the July 27 edition of the Amarillo Sunday Globe-News. This is the whole column as originally written:

In this column last month, I tried to combine my legal expertise and my faith as I tackled the difficult topic of how to be a Christian employer. Click here [...]

Employers Can Face Criminal Penalities

Monday, July 28th, 2008

Ionia Management is a Greek company that manages a fleet of tanker vessels. The company was convicted of a crime and sentenced for its role in falsifying records to conceal the overboard dumping of waste oil from one of its vessels into international waters. The case is now on appeal to the federal Second Circuit [...]

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 [...]

How to Poorly Manage Employees

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008

Do you want a good laugh today? Do you want to feel better about yourself as a manager or supervisor?
Then compare your management style to Edward Mike Davis, who ran Tiger Oil Company in Houston during the 1970s before the company went bankrupt during the oil bust of the 1980s.
“Tiger Mike” wrote some now 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 [...]

Discrimination Complaints to EEOC Increase

Wednesday, July 16th, 2008

Here’s a scary little tidbit for employers. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which assists employees in bringing claims for discrimination against their employers, have announced that filings with the EEOC for discrimination jumped 9% in fiscal year 2007. In the first quarter of fiscal year 2008, they jumped another 21% from the previous year’s [...]

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 [...]

Genetic Information Now Protected By Law

Thursday, July 10th, 2008

In June 2008, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Bush. The law prohibits discrimination based on genetic information about employees and applicants, their dependants, and any relatives out to the fourth-degree, such as great-grandparents. GINA stops employers from requesting, requiring or purchasing genetic information about [...]

Minimum Wage Increase Reminder

Monday, July 7th, 2008

Remember that the minimum wage increases by $.70 per hour again on July 24, 2008.
If you are paying less than $6.55 to almost any worker (except waitstaff that receives part of their income from tips), you will need to raise his/her hourly rate to $6.55 per hour for every hour beginning with those worked after 12:01 [...]

Written Warning Form

Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008

One of the most frequent questions I receive from clients concerns how to “write up” an employee for a disciplinary violation. Written warnings are so important if there is ever a dispute about unemployment or discrimination. It is very difficult to defend your business on the basis of an employee’s poor performance or violation of the rules if [...]

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