Our discrimination lawyers want to help you understand discrimination law and how it affects you in your workplace. This page serves as a jumping off point so you can find and read the blog articles written by our discrimination lawyers. Scroll down and click on any title listed below to get to a particular article.

Fifth Circuit Court Slashes Jury Award in Employment Discrimination Lawsuit

Posted on Aug 26, 2024 – A huge jury award, for pain and suffering, in an employment discrimination lawsuit, was slashed by the Fifth Circuit Court on an appeal filed by the employer. This creates a legal precedent regarding damage awards that will play out in the future… Read Article

New Harm Standards for Workplace Discrimination May Increase Employer Liability

Posted on May 16, 2024 – The definition of employment discrimination under Title VII was expanded by a recent Supreme Court decision. This new legal interpretation opens the door to future discrimination lawsuits unless employers adopt and enforce new DEI policies against actions that harm employees… Read Article

Veteran With Iraq War Injuries Awarded $2.5 Million in Re-employment Lawsuit

Posted on Dec 06, 2023 – The U.S. Supreme Court recently reversed a state court decision in an employment discrimination lawsuit involving the re-employment of a veteran with Iraq War injuries. This veteran was awarded $2.5 million… Read Article

Fifth Circuit Opens Door to Wider Range of Title VII Employment Discrimination Claims

Posted on Sept 30, 2023 – A recent Fifth Circuit Court decision sets a new legal precedent on employment discrimination and expands the legal definition of unlawful employment practices in Texas beyond hiring, firing, paying, or leaving. But will the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act (TCHRA) amend its definitions accordingly… Read Article

Religious Accommodation in the Workplace After the Supreme Court Decision in Groff

Posted on Sept 18, 2023 – A recent Supreme Court decision on religious accommodation requests in the workplace environment opens the door to employer evaluations of said requests that consider the cost to the company for approving such requests… Read Article

Fifth Circuit Reverses Dismissal of Wrongful Termination Case of Tenured Female Professor

Posted on Jun 13, 2023 – A recent court decision was overturned on appeal regarding a female, tenured, college professor in a wrongful termination lawsuit involving a bigoted employer’s action known as job fractioning. This is a case of age discrimination under a different name. Employers beware of this now recognized employment practice… Read Article

Lawyers Appealing an ADA Disability Discrimination Case Overturn Lower Court Decision

Posted on Apr 29, 2023 – In April 2023, a judgment by the Court of Appeals reversed and remanded the decision of a lower court that had awarded summary judgment to the employer in this case. Proving discrimination as it relates to an adverse action by an employer is difficult, requiring three distinct steps… Read Article

The Story of Employment Discrimination in Texas by the Numbers

Posted on Oct 5, 2022 – Federal statistics from the EEOC rank Texas as the state with the most employment discrimination claims in the U.S. It is critical to reducing employment discrimination that workers understand what it is and how to fight for their legal rights… Read Article

New Toxic Disability & Re-employment Benefits for Vets

Posted on Sept 2, 2022 – The new federal PACT Act and the recent Torres Supreme Court decision on re-employment benefits in Texas have improved the legal landscape for men and women vets seeking re-employment and disability benefits for toxic injuries after their military service… Read Article

Chicken Producers Employment Now Under Federal Scrutiny

Posted on May 24, 2022 – The Justice Department has begun an investigation of chicken producers to learn if they have colluded to hold down worker’s wages and control chicken prices… Read Article

Two Return-to-Work Disability Lawsuits in Texas

Posted on November 19, 2021 – In September 2021, the EEOC filed lawsuits against two Texas employers citing disability discrimination under ADA statutes involving two different disabled employees returning to work after their Covid-19 restrictions were lifted… Read Article

Workplace Discrimination Based on Perceived Disability is Illegal

Posted on June 25, 2021 – Workplace disability discrimination is illegal. This occurs when an employer believes a worker has a disability when none exists. When employees bring such claims to courts, the decisions are often favorable to the employee. Under federal and Texas law, discrimination occurs when a worker is mistakenly believed to have a disability then is treated as a nuisance or problem and gets fired… Read Article

Supreme Court Decision Interprets Racial Discrimination Litigation Under Prevailing Civil Rights Law

Posted on February 15, 2021 – A recent Supreme Court decision illustrates the differences in civil rights law during the litigation of racial discrimination cases. In Comcast v. National Association of African American-Owned Media, the owner of ESN sued because Comcast would not carry its channels. The case was struck down, leaving fewer legal protections for independent contractors and gig workers, which may lead to a rise in the use of contract workers and a fall in the number of regular employees in the future… Read Article

Doctors, Dentists, Small Business Owners and Disability Claims

Posted on December 30, 2020 – The challenges that doctors, dentists, and others who own small businesses face when their insurance company denies a long-term disability claim are not unique. Such claims can play out differently than claims made by employees of medium and large companies whose long-term disability insurance provided through their companies. The consequences may be especially devastating because of the nature of a solo practice and small business. The good news, however, is that the law has changed in Texas, so that people whose claims were denied now have a much better chance of prevailing in court than they would have had as recently as three or four years ago… Read Article

Employees Are Harmed by Employer Pay Secrecy Policies Because They Can Lead to Pay Discrimination

Posted on June 8, 2020 – Many Texas employers tell their employees to not discuss salary information with coworkers. Enforced pay secrecy can lay the groundwork for pay discrimination. Pay secrecy is illegal. Workers need a strategy or two to end the practice of requiring pay secrecy and for negotiating a pay increase… Read Article

Protect Your Employee Rights Before a Wrongful Termination

Posted on December 31, 2019 – If you suspect that you are about to be fired, it is wise to understand your employee rights, and how to support a claim of wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation or other possible legal action available to you. This is a tough situation, but you are in a unique position to protect your future, your reputation, and your legal rights… Read Article

Anti-SLAPP statute protects people from frivolous lawsuits

Posted on May 24, 2019 – If you exercise your right to free speech and publicly criticize a company or entity for wrongdoing, such as polluting a river or performing surgery on a healthy knee, that company or entity could sue you for defamation. You can fight back under the Texas Citizens Participation Act (TCPA), which is referred to as the Anti-SLAPP statute. In Texas, it protects people from frivolous lawsuits. But, there’s a time limit for filing… Read Article

ADEA Focuses on Employees Rather Than Job Applicants

Posted on Apr 02, 2019 – Recently, the Seventh Circuit on appeal determined that the discrimination protections set forth in the ADEA apply only to employees and don’t extend to job applicants. This decision has already generated some controversy, in view of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling on age discrimination law. Let’s examine this case further… Read Article

Workplace Misconceptions About Abusive Behavior

Posted on Dec 04, 2018 – It’s easy for inexperienced employees to develop misconceptions about abusive behavior in the workplace. Some behavior, though abhorrent, is not illegal. It’s useful to understand which behavior is illegal and how to spot warning signs during the job interview… Read Article

Sex Discrimination Legal Doctrine Still Evolving

Posted on Apr 24, 2018 – There is a split in the federal circuit appeals courts regarding sexual orientation discrimination. The Seventh Circuit in Hively and the Second Circuit in Zarda held that sexual orientation discrimination is sex discrimination and can proceed under Title VII. The Eleventh Circuit has held the opposite. Thus, the U.S. Supreme Court may have to decide the issue… Read Article

Workplace religious freedom redefined by Sessions

Posted on Nov 17, 2017 – In a recent memorandum issued by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, guidelines were spelled out for religious liberty in U.S. administrative agencies, executive departments and in the execution of federal law. These reiterate existing federal statute known as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 but go beyond to articulate new guidelines for religious employers and religious organizations… Read Article

EEOC Wins Lawsuit Based on Workplace Discrimination

Posted on Sept 12, 2017 – In a religious accommodation case under Title VII, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld a judgment for $150,000 in compensatory damages and over $436,000 in front pay, back pay and lost benefits awarded to a former coal miner in West Virginia. The appellate court agreed with the trial court that the evidence showed that the miner’s employer failed to accommodate his… Read Article

Employment Discrimination and Retaliation Cases in Texas

Posted on May 09, 2017 – Misconduct by employers gives rise to many employment claims resulting from unlawful discrimination and retaliation in the workplace. Two recent cases in Texas courts provide examples of employment claims involving discrimination by employers in Texas. Do you have a discrimination claim against an employer… Read Article

Texas Legislature Bills to Expand Law Regarding Discrimination

Posted on March 29, 2017 – If the employment discrimination bills recently introduced in the Texas Legislature become law, Texas workers will gain important, additional protections and rights under state law. LGBT employees in Texas will gain significant new protections against discrimination from employers, state contractors, and agencies. In addition, Texas employees will have new causes of action for sex discrimination in pay rates and employer inquiries into the wage history of a job applicant… Read Article

Workplace Discrimination Cases Involving Job Applicants with Disabilities Now Enjoy a More Lenient Interpretation of Physical Impairment

Posted on May 31, 2016 – Employees with denied disability claims were recently given more hope. A court decision in January 2016 demonstrates the more lenient standards that now apply to disability claims under the Americans with Disability Act and the ADA Amendments Act of 2008. In a decision in the case Cannon v. Jacobs Field Services North America, Inc., the Fifth Circuit reversed a summary judgment that a lower court had granted in favor of… Read Article

Workplace Discrimination Cases – The Evolution of the Adverse Employment Action

Posted on May 17, 2016 – Discrimination under federal statutes says it is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against an employee with respect to compensation, terms, conditions or privileges of employment or because of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age or disability. The problem is that the various federal courts often disagree on the meaning of… Read Article

Equal Pay Practices are the Focus of the EEOC’s Recent Proposal

Posted on February 25, 2016 – In January, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission published a proposal that targets the collection of pay data in annual reports submitted to it by employers in an effort to create a database of wage information that might be used to identify opportunities for achieving equal pay. The goal of this initiative is to help the EEOC in its investigations of workplace discrimination and wage and hour claims. If approved, the new rule would… Read Article

Workplace Discrimination Lawsuits Can Be Won or Lost by the Use of a Standard of Causation

Posted on February 18, 2016 – Claims for discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age or disability must meet the relevant standard of causation in order to prevail. The problem in these discrimination lawsuits is that different anti-discrimination statutes have different standards of causation. In many instances, the courts have been divided about which standard to apply. This means that discrimination lawsuits based on very similar facts may lead to very different outcomes, depending on the statute and court… Read Article

Employee Rights: Cancer Workplace Discrimination, by Bess Masterson, Attorney

Posted on August 15, 2015 – Some employers discriminate against employees with cancer, often out of misperceptions. In many such cases, both the employer and employee may not be aware that such discrimination may be illegal under both federal and Texas state law. These laws are not widely known and difficult to interpret. Anyone who has cancer and feels discriminated against by an employer as a result of this disease should contact a qualified employment lawyer, who is well-versed in employment law… Hear It

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