Just for fun today (if you are like me and have no life!), test your knowledge of federal and Texas employment law. If you manage people in the workplace in Texas, this is the kind of information you should know off the top of your head. Give yourself about 10 minutes to answer these questions, then click on the answer page and see how you did.

1. What is “employment at will” and why is it important?
2. True or false: A “contract employee” is someone who works full-time for you but for whom you do not have to pay payroll taxes nor report as an employee.
3. True of false: To prevent violence in the workplace, you should check your applicant’s criminal arrest record.
4. Age discrimination claims can be filed by an employee who is ____ years of age or older.
5. True or false: if an applicant is mentally ill, you don’t have to hire that applicant.
6. At what age can you make an employee retire?
7. True or false: The company can be liable if a customer sexually harasses its employee.
8. How many people does a company have to employ before the Family and Medical Leave Act applies to that company? ______ employees.
9. What is required to legally deduct anything other than payroll taxes from an employee’s paycheck?
10. You can hold an employee’s final paycheck until he turns in : (check all that apply)   ____ uniforms; _____ company credit cards; _____ tools and other company equipment; ____ keys to company facilities; _____ all money owed to the company for salary advances, benefits, etc.
11. How many days do you have to get an employee’s final paycheck to him in Texas if he has been fired?  ____ days.
12. What is the current minimum wage? $_____ per hour. What will the minimum wage be on July 24, 2009? $ _____ per hour.
13. True or false: An employer must prove that the employee committed “misconduct” if the employer wants to avoid an award of unemployment benefits to a fired employee.
14. True or false: An employee who was fired for poor performance (just couldn’t do the job correctly) has committed “misconduct” so that she won’t receive unemployment benefits.
15. How many employees do you have to have before you are liable under the federal and state discrimination laws, such as the laws prohibiting sexual harassment or disability discrimination? Continue reading Test Your Employment Law Knowledge →