Austin Employment Lawyer

Contact an Austin employment lawyer with our employment law firm if you have a claim against your employer for employment discrimination, retaliation in the workplace, unemployment benefits, unpaid wages, or other employment disputes. Employment law is often complicated, and as the plaintiff, you likely have the burden to prove each and every element of your claim. To better understand your rights, contact an Austin employment lawyer with our Austin employment law firm today.

Because Texas follows the at-will employment doctrine, only certain forms of discrimination are against the law in the Texas workplace. For example, Title VII of the Civil Rights of 1964 prohibits an employer with at least 15 employees from discriminating against an employee based on race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. Title VII also prohibits covered employers from retaliating against employees who complain about discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Other employment laws may prohibit different types of discrimination in the workplace. Contact an Austin employment discrimination lawyer in our firm to discuss a claim for discrimination or retaliation.

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 amended the definition of sex discrimination under Title VII. With this amendment, sex discrimination on the basis of pregnancy is also protected. For example, a covered employer is prohibited from terminating an employee because she is pregnant, about to become pregnant, or was pregnant in the past. Any discriminatory act that negatively impacts the terms and conditions of employment could provide support a claim for pregnancy discrimination. This amendment also added retaliation protection for covered employees who complain about pregnancy discrimination in the workplace. Contact an Austin pregnancy discrimination lawyer with our firm if you would like to discuss your employment dispute with our firm.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (“ADEA”) prohibits employers with twenty or more employees from discriminating against an employee based on age. However, only employees who are forty years or older are protected from age discrimination under the ADEA. Similar to Title VII, the ADEA also prohibits covered employers from retaliating against employees for complaining about age discrimination in the workplace. Contact an Austin age discrimination lawyer with our firm if you would like to discuss an age discrimination claim against your employer.

The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits employers from discriminating against an employee because of an actual or perceived disability. The ADA was amended in 2009 and now broadly defines the term “disability” as a serious medical condition that affects a major lift activity. Common disabilities include stress, anxiety, depression, epilepsy, diabetes, HIV, and cancer. In addition to prohibiting discrimination, the ADA requires employers to provide a disabled employee with a reasonable accommodation. The process to determine whether a request is reasonable often depends on the facts of each case. Thus, it requires a case-by-case analysis. Contact our employment law firm if you would like to discuss your matter with an Austin disability discrimination lawyer.

Texas follows the at-will employment doctrine. This generally means that an employer can terminate an employee at any time, with or without reason. However, several federal and state employment laws create exceptions to this at-will employment policy. For example, covered employers cannot terminate an employee because of race, religion, age, color, national origin, disability, or sex. Additionally, a covered employer cannot terminate an employee in retaliation for complaining about unlawful discrimination, unlawful pay practices, or for taking approved FMLA medical leave. Wrongful termination is a common term used to describe a termination that violates one of these laws. These laws, however, do not protect all employees or employers and often vary on the number of employees. Contact an Austin wrongful termination lawyer if you would like to discuss your rights.

Numerous federal and state laws regulate how employers pay employees. The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) requires employers to pay a minimum wage. Additionally, the FLSA requires employers to pay most employees an overtime rate equivalent to one and one-half times the regular rate of pay. It is the FLSA, not an employer, that dictates which employees should be paid overtime and which employees can be exempt and paid a salary. The Texas Payday Law provides additional protections for employees. For example, under state law, an employer cannot make certain deductions from an employee’s pay without prior written consent. Additionally, an employer must pay terminated employees vacation time and earned wages in accordance with the act. To discuss a possible wage claim with an Austin unpaid wage lawyer, contact our employment law firm today.

If you would like to discuss a potential claim for employment discrimination, workplace retaliation, wrongful termination, unpaid wages, or unemployment benefits, contact our new Austin office today to schedule a consultation with an Austin employment lawyer.