As an employer you probably have employees drive their own cars on business errands everyday – to the bank to deposit today’s receipts, to the printer to pick up new brochures, to Office Depot to buy supplies.

            But have you considered the liability consequences associated with having your employees drive on company business? Are you familiar with the driving record of each of these employees? Does each one carry current automobile insurance?

Who pays for the ticket that your employee gets while speeding to get your package to Federal Express because it absolutely, positively has to be at your customer’s facility tomorrow and you waited until the last minute to finish the project?

Most importantly, who is responsible when your employee has an at fault accident and someone in another vehicle is seriously injured?

Continue reading Employee’s Poor Driving can Affect Employer →

            If you watched the Bravo TV reality show, “Project Runway”, this season, you saw one of the designers sporting extremely unattractive tattoos all over his body, particularly several lines of writing around his neck.

            It is a good thing that Jeffrey Sebelia is talented enough as a fashion designer to have his own clothing line, because if he had to ever seek employment with me or most of the employers I represent, he would never be hired. His appearance is so off-putting to professionals and business people that his employment chances would be slim in this area of the country.

            I’m often asked if you as an employer can “discriminate” against an employee by telling him his tattoos are unacceptable? What about his pierced tongue? Do you have a legal right as an employer to make certain items of appearance unacceptable in your workplace?

            If you are a private employer in Texas, the answer is “yes”. Continue reading Just Say No to Tattoos & Piercings →

            I frequently teach seminars for employers and supervisors who want to learn how to manage their employees in a way that avoids any trips to the courthouse.

            One of the most frequent questions I get during while I’m conducting training concerns an employer’s responsibility for accidents or incidents that employees cause while off duty. For example, employers want to know if they have any responsibility when a drunk employee sideswipes a van full of kids after leaving work.

            The Texas Supreme Court tackled this issue recently in the case of Loram Maintenance of Way, Inc. v. Ianni. The Court was asked to decide whether an employer owes a duty to protect the public from an employee’s wrongful off-duty conduct because the employer knew its employee was drug-impaired and had threatened violence to others.

Continue reading Off-Duty Conduct of Employees →

           Would you be willing to publish in the newspaper the financial details of your company, the identity and special needs of your customers, the formulas for your products, the marketing studies you have done, the specialized training you have created, and your business plans for all your competitors to see?

            Probably not. But if your competitors hire your former employee who has all that information about your business in his head or on a jump drive, similar damage can be done. Your business can also suffer if an employee starts her own business in competition with you using all that information.

            Fortunately there are ways that you as an employer can protect your confidential business information and trade secrets when knowledgeable employees leave your company. You can require an employee not to interfere with your business by prohibiting his recruitment of your employees when he leaves. You can also restrict a key employee from competing against your business by having him sign a covenant not to compete.

Continue reading Protecting Business Secrets →

           More than 7 percent of employees drink during the workday in America and 15 percent are directly affected by alcohol at work, either by drinking on the job, coming to work already drunk, or trying to work with a hangover.

The University at Buffalo’s Research Institute on Addictions recently announced these results in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol. Demographically, the study found that workplace alcohol use and impairment was more common among men than women, younger workers than older workers, and unmarried workers than married workers.  Occupations with the highest rates were management, sales, arts/entertainment/sports/media, food preparation and serving, and building and grounds maintenance. 

Since alcohol slows down an employee’s reaction time and impairs decision-making, the consequences in the workplace can range from unproductive to lethal.

Continue reading Alcohol in the Workplace →

            Did you catch the news last month that Texas has joined three other states and the District of Columbia as a majority-minority state, according to population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau?

Hispanics are now the largest minority group in Texas. According to population estimates based on the 2000 census, about 50.2 percent of Texans are minorities.

This demographic information should cause all Texas employers to once again reassess their policies and practices to make sure they are not vulnerable to discrimination claims. Both Texas and federal law make it illegal for an employer with 15 or more employees to discriminate on the basis of race, as well as age, sex, national origin, disability, religion and other protected classifications.

Continue reading Demographic Trends Predict Future →

When I moved to the Panhandle in early 1987, Amarillo had a very formal business atmosphere.  During the first three years that I practiced law, I never once wore pants to work.  A female lawyer’s standard uniform consisted of a skirted suit, pantyhose and heels, even on Fridays.

            The rules for workplace dress are much more relaxed now.  Local law firms have adopted Friday casual days.  Bank employees can often be seen in bank logo shirts and jeans.  Women in all occupations wear pants and sometimes even capris.  My suits hang in the closet unless I’m in court or making presentations.

            Amarillo workplaces are not alone in this trend towards more casual attire.  A recent Career Builders survey found that 78% of employees reported that their workplaces were casual, which was defined as “business casual” (khaki slacks and polo shirts, for example) by at least half of the respondents. More surprisingly, 20% of the respondents said their workplace was “very casual” (shorts, jeans and t-shirts).

Continue reading Dress Codes →

            Most employers call me in my role as an employment attorney when something has gone wrong in the workplace—an employee is using drugs, not showing up for work, being unproductive or demonstrating a bad attitude.

            When asked about what has happened in the employment relationship before this problem arose, many employers will tell me that they have been running the company like a “family”.

            Because it was a family, the employer didn’t want to be very strict, didn’t adopt a written policy manual, failed to institute any formal rules or take the time to carefully clarify expectations. Generally, the employer has interpreted being a “family” as an excuse to be passive, tolerant and to avoid conflict.

            Sounds great. Doesn’t work. Continue reading Even Family Firms Need Policies →