Moore & Associates can help Smithville Texas workers against illegal employment practices.

The Smithville Texas employment lawyers at Moore & Associates have been assisting clients for almost twenty years, with violations of labor law, employer discrimination actions and unfair compensation. State labor laws must either comply with federal, or national labor laws, or exceed them in order to be legal.

Labor law violations in Smithville Texas.

It is prudent to hire experienced employment attorneys in Smithville Texas when questionable employment activities arise so they can build a solid case around the facts laid out to them. Common and costly labor law mistakes include violations of:

Minimum wage and overtime requirements per established employment law,
Safe working environment for employees,
Workers’ compensation for on the job injuries,
Employee misclassification,
Discrimination, or harassment of employees.

Smithville Texas Minimum wage and overtime lawyers.

A Smithville TX unpaid overtime attorney can make sure employers are adhering to the Federal Labor Standards Act that requires overtime pay of at least one and one-half times the regular rate of pay for hours worked in excess of 40 hours per workweek. Texas law addresses the federal guidelines on minimum hourly wage, meaning nearly all employees must be paid $7.25 an hour for their labor and Smithville Texas unpaid overtime lawyers can address deviations from these required practices.

Safe working environment.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) was created to ensure workplace safety for employees. If an employer does not take the appropriate measures to make the workplace safe, they can face OSHA sanctions and fines, along with formal complaints and lawsuits from employees. Employers are responsible for educating employees about all relevant potential hazards on the job and must provide appropriate OSHA training.

Smithville Texas Workers’ compensation.

Texas requires employers to carry some sort of workers’ compensation insurance to pay for work-related injuries. In almost all cases, if a worker sustains an injury while working for a specific employer, that employer must cover the costs related to that injury. These costs include medical fees, rehabilitation fees, and the wages not being earned due to disability. The complaint process may be expedited when an Smithville Texas experienced labor law attorney is acting on behalf of an injured employee.

Smithville TX Discrimination, harassment of employees.

Federal anti-discrimination laws support many lawsuits brought against employers for age, disability status, gender pay gap, sex, race, religion, national origin, and pregnancy, to name a few and include:

Title I of Americans With Disabilities Act
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
Pregnancy Discrimination Act
Equal Pay Act
Age Discrimination in Employment Act

Workplace discrimination/harassment in Smithville TX.

A sexual harassment lawyer in Smithville Texas can initiate legal action against workplace discrimination and sexual harassment. There are state and federal laws to protect employees against the harms of those negative interactions, and an experienced Smithville TX employment lawyer can be very helpful in explaining avenues of resolve to clients.

Workplace discrimination occurs when an individual is adversely discriminated against, due to a multitude of factors defined by law.
Workplace harassment is a form of discrimination that includes unwelcome behaviors by managers, clients, and co-workers, or other workplace associates.
Employer retaliation includes acts to punish an employee. If an individual is fired because they speak out about harassment and discrimination, they should immediately consult with a Smithville TX workplace harassment lawyer to remedy the complaint.

Recognizing retaliation.

Retaliation may come in a series of random acts that detract from an employee’s ability to advance in their job, including bad performance reviews, job description changes, micromanagement, exclusions from active projects, or requests to work less hours, resulting in pay cuts and cases of unjust termination.

Employees can make informal complaints to their employer, file a formal complaint, file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and/or State Commission on Human Rights Division, or hire a Smithville Texas wrongful termination attorney to file a lawsuit when attempts to complain about negative workplace behavior results in retaliatory acts, including job loss.

Fair compensation.

The Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is administered by the Wage and Hour Division and sets standards for minimum wages, overtime pay, time keeping records, and child labor. If an employer is not paying the minimum wage and overtime wages in accordance with Federal laws, it may be illegal, depending on an individual’s work status, and the type of business where they are employed. An experienced unpaid wage attorney in Smithville Texas can help with the recovery of earnings for Texas employees.

Misclassification.

An employer may attempt to by-pass federal overtime law by telling an employee that they are working in a “salaried” position. They will then attempt to pay workers a lump sum total of 40 hours’ worth of minimum wage, and claim that they are not required to pay overtime compensation, which is in clear violation of overtime laws. If an individual feels they have a strong case against an employer, they should contact a Smithville Texas unpaid wage lawyer.

Overtime exemption.

Not all employers are required by law to pay overtime wages, although exceptions are rare. The Fair Labor Standards Act requires companies with over $500,000 in annual sales and those that participate in interstate commerce, or business between states, to pay their workers an overtime wage. Employers in Smithville Texas are required to follow the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act that governs minimum hourly wages, overtime wages, duration of pay periods, appropriate payroll deductions, required pay statement information, payment of final wages, and much more.

Damages.

Damages are awarded to remedy intangible injuries, such as emotional anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, inconvenience, pain and suffering, injury to professional community standing, injury to reputation, injury to credit and loss of health. Economic damages are easier to quantify and include potential moving expenses, job search expenses, medical expenses, behavioral health expenses, and out-of-pocket expenses directly related to the negative employer practices.

Seek legal counsel.

If an individual believes they are the victim of any labor law violations, they should immediately contact Moore & Associates to discuss options against unfair employment practices. Smithville Texas discrimination lawyers will review the case and devise a strategy to recover damages.

Moore & Associates

Houston Employment Law Attorney

Phone: (713) 222-6775

440 Louisiana Street, Suite 675
Houston, TX 77002

427 W Twohig Avenue
San Angelo, Texas 76903

Sources:

https://www.twc.texas.gov/jobseekers/texas-minimum-wage-law#:~:text=The%20Texas%20Minimum%20Wage%20Act%3A%20Establishes%20a%20minimum,statement%20containing%20certain%20information%20about%20the%20employee%27s%20pay.

https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/workplaceviolence/

https://www.osha.gov/workers/file_complaint.html

https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/

https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/WHD/legacy/files/whdfs21.pdf

https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/wages/minimumwage

https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/overtime/2019-regular-rate

https://www.eeoc.gov/retaliation

https://www.sec.gov/eeoinfo/antidiscrimination.htm