Time off from work to eat a meal (usually lunch) during the workday. Neither federal law nor Texas law requires employers to provide meal breaks, though several states do have laws requiring meal breaks and placing certain restrictions on how they must be administered…

As defined by the federal WARN Act, a reduction-in-force resulting in an employment loss - either termination or reduction of hours by more than fifty percent (50%) - at a single worksite during any period of thirty (30) days affecting either (1) 500 or more employees, or (2) 50-499 employees if the affected workers comprise at least one-third (33%) of the employer’s active workforce…

Also referred to in many labor and employment law settings as a “supervisor,” this is an employee with the authority to make certain decisions regarding other employees on behalf of the employer…

To qualify for protection under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and its Texas counterpart in Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code, an employee or job applicant must have a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities…

This term typically refers to ordinances passed by cities, counties, and other municipalities that require employers to pay employees working within the covered area more than the applicable federal or state minimum wage. A living wage rate is usually calculated as the amount a full-time worker must earn to support a family of four at or above the poverty line in the covered geographic area…

Temporary work duties that are less physically demanding than an employee’s standard work duties for the role in which they are employed, typically offered when an employee is unable to perform all of their normal assigned job duties due to an injury, illness, disability, or pregnancy…

Under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), a qualifying employee may take up to twelve (12) weeks of job-protected leave (or in the case of military caregiver leave, up to twenty-six (26) weeks) within a period of twelve (12) months known as the designated “leave year.”…

Simply put, termination of one or more employees based on the business needs of the employer rather than being based on job performance or inappropriate conduct. A layoff may also be referred to as a reduction in force (RIF) if it involves termination of multiple employees…

Time off provided during the workday to allow relatively new mothers to breastfeed or pump breast milk. Under federal law, covered employees’ right to lactation breaks were initially created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (PPACA) and are now covered by the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act), which amended the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) starting at the very end of 2022…

Nearly every state offers some type of legal protection to employees against discipline or termination by an employer for fulfilling their civil obligation to serve on a jury. Texas is no exception…

An employer that shares control over an employee with one or more additional employers. Using a traditional two-employer joint employment scenario, both entities are considered “employers” for purposes of compliance with applicable labor and employment laws and both entities can also be sued for and owe liability for violating those laws…

Document that sets forth the duties, requirements, and prerequisites of a position. Employers typically prepare a job description when hiring for a new position or when replacing a departing employee…

Process by which an employer determines whether misconduct occurred, who was responsible for the misconduct, and what remedial action should be taken as a result. An investigation can be “internal,” meaning it was performed by the employer, or “external,” meaning it was performed by some third party such as a government agency or a law firm engaged to conduct the investigation independently of the employer…

Temporary worker, often a student or an individual with no industry experience, who takes a job to learn what the position is like and obtain hands-on working experience. Some internships are paid while others are unpaid, often depending on the specific employer and standard practice within the particular industry…

Leave taken pursuant to the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in separate blocks of time for the same qualifying reason, rather than being taken all at once…

Self-employed business person who performs services for other individuals or businesses. Two hallmarks of a true independent contractor are that they (1) are in business for themselves, and (2) are not reliant on one single employer for their livelihood or financial well-being…

In employment law, incapacity is an individual’s inability to work, attend school, or to perform other regular daily activities. Incapacity may play a role in determining an employee’s eligibility for certain benefits, such as disability benefits or workers’ compensation benefits to replace some or all wages lost during the period of the employee’s inability to work…

The federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) - which the Texas Labor Code largely adopts for purposes of defining disability discrimination - defines a disability as a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity…

Comprehensive federal immigration law that largely addressed issues unrelated to employment law. The most significant effect of this law on employment-related issues is the requirement that employers must verify that all employees are legally authorized to work in the United States by having new hires complete the “employee” section of a federal Form I-9 and provide documentation establishing the employee’s identity and work authorization status…

An hour for which an employee is entitled to be paid pursuant to the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and state wage and hour laws. In Texas, the applicable law is commonly referred to as the Texas Minimum Wage Act, which largely adopts the standards of the FLSA…