Employment Law

Texas Employment Law Lawyers

Dallas Workplace Discrimination Lawyer

Sexual Harassment • Discrimination • Termination • Severance

The employer-employee relationship is vital to our economy, crucial to business and at the core of how many people define themselves. Abuse of this relationship can cripple a business and wreak havoc on a family. At Kilgore & Kilgore, PLLC, of Dallas, Texas, we represent employees in Dallas, Houston, Austin and statewide in matters of employment law. Our employment attorneys are sensitive to the legal, economic, and emotional dynamics that arise when the employment relationship is abused. We utilize tact and diplomacy in pursuing a favorable resolution of your case.

Read client testimonials from the wide range of people we have helped.

The trial lawyers of Kilgore & Kilgore, PLLC offer decades of experience in protecting the rights of employees and executives under Texas and federal employment law. We possess the resources and knowledge to enforce the rights of individuals and employee groups in the following areas.

Executive Services

We represent officers, directors, CEOs and other executives in:

Negotiation of employment and separation agreements.
Non-compete agreements and proprietary rights.
Retaliation for reporting fraud or illegal activity.
Accusations of sexual harassment or discrimination.
Defamation suits brought by employees.

UNPAID COMMISIONS AND WAGES
We have helped numerous highly compensated sales employees obtain payment of earned commission. See Malone r. Ariba, 99 Fed. Appx. 545; 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 10503 (5th cir. 2004) (suit on unpaid commission).

If you are owed wages by your employer, we are only able to help you if you are owed an amount greater than $40,000. If you are owed less than this amount, please contact the Texas Workforce Commission for help in getting paid.

Discrimination and Sexual Harassment

Kilgore & Kilgore, PLLC vigorously defends employees' rights. We have helped victims obtain justice from dozens of major U.S. corporations for:

Sexual harassment and hostile work environment.
Hiring and workplace discrimination based on age, race, nationality, religion, gender, or disability.
Hostile action against pregnant women or employees taking FMLA family leave.
Defamation stemming from an employer's false statements or accusations.

Wrongful Termination and Employer Retaliation

Under limited circumstances, employees in Texas may sue for wrongful termination. We protect employees who were illegally fired or sanctioned, including:

Whistleblowers protected under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act from hostile actions for reporting illegal activity of their employers.
Victims of retaliation or wrongful discharge for refusing to commit illegal acts.
Executives or employees fired in violation of an oral or written contract.
Employees terminated in violation of the Civil Rights Act and other civil rights legislation.

Employment Law

Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment, like harassment on the basis of race, national origin, age, or disability, is barred by federal law and the laws of most states.

Hostile work environment sexual harassment occurs where an employee, because of his or her sex, is subjected to a pervasive atmosphere of unwelcome conduct that unreasonably interferes with the employee's work performance or otherwise creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment. Contrary to popular conceptions, sexual harassment need not be sexual in nature in order to violate the law. While sexual joking, unwanted advances, and offensive pictures, if pervasive enough, may violate the law, unwarranted criticism of an employee's work or generally unpleasant behavior, even if not obviously sexual, can also be sexual harassment if it is directed at an employee solely because of his or her sex.

Quid pro quo sexual harassment occurs where an employee is required to submit to unwelcome sexual conduct as a condition of his or her job, or in order to gain some job benefit. For example, a supervisor who demands that a subordinate have an affair with him or her in order to be considered for promotion commits quid pro quo sexual harassment.

Sexual harassment may be committed by both men and women, and the victims of sexual harassment may be male and female. A recent Supreme Court case has held that sexual harassment may occur between individuals of the same sex: a man may sexually harass a man and a woman may sexually harass a woman. However, although some state laws prohibit harassment that is based on sexual orientation or gender identity, federal law does not make this type of harassment illegal. Some courts are recognizing harassment based on sexual stereotyping, such as where a man is being harassed by other men for acting too feminine.

In order to be illegal, the sexually harassing behavior must be based on sex and must be unwelcome and offensive to its target. An employee who participates in sexual joking or has a consensual sexual relationship with his or her supervisor may have a difficult time proving sexual harassment.

On the other hand, an employee need not necessarily complain about harassment in order to recover. An employer may be liable for harassment of an employee by a coworker, client, or customer if the employer knew or should have known of the harassment, and failed to take appropriate action to stop it. While an employee may not be able to show that his or her employer knew or should have known of harassment if the employee did not complaint, if the harasser has harassed others in the past, and those persons have complained, the employee may be able to show that the employer was on notice that harassment was a problem. If, once the employer knows of the harassment, it takes action and the harassment stops, then the employee may not have a claim.

If the harassment is done by a supervisor, the employee need not necessarily show that the employer knew or should have known of the harassment. Instead, once the employee shows that harassing behavior has taken place, the employer has the burden of showing that it had taken appropriate actions to prevent and correct sexual harassment (such as by distributing a clear sexual harassment policy to all employees, training supervisors in ways to avoid and handle instances of sexual harassment and by giving employees an appropriate and accessible person with whom to lodge complaints), and that the employee acted unreasonably in failing to take advantage of those steps. However, where the harassed employee has suffered an adverse employment action, such as discipline or demotion, the fact that an employer has a sexual harassment policy in place may not protect the employer against a claim of harassment.

Finally, it is illegal for an employer or a harasser to retaliate against an employee for bringing a complaint or legal claim of sexual harassment. Other employees who testify as witnesses in investigations of sexual harassment or at trial are also protected from retaliation.

Find out whether your employer has a policy covering harassment, including sexual harassment and read it carefully. If your employer has a policy, it is very important that you try to follow its procedures if you feel you are being sexually harassed.

Overtime

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), designed to protect workers from working excessive hours at substandard wages, is one of the cornerstones of federal labor law. The FLSA entitles an employee to receive not less than one-and-one-half times the regular pay rate ("time and a half") for every hour of compensable time worked in excess of 40 hours in any given workweek. Certain employees are exempt, such as executives, as well as certain service industries, such as domestic services. Under the FLSA, if you are not an executive or otherwise exempt, you and others like you may be entitled to a claim for overtime wages.

EMPLOYMENT AT WILL
Employment in Texas is at will, which means that you can be fired for any reason at all (i.e. you wore a blue shirt to work), but not for an illegal reason. Illegal reasons include being fired because of your race, sex, age, race, national origin, religion, or disability. Or because you are a whistleblower, filed a workers' compensation claim, etc. Please see the other headings for illegal reasons for termination to see if you fit within an exception to the employment at will doctrine.

ECONOMICS
We take select employment cases on a contingency fee basis, which means that we advance the attorneys' fee and service until there is recovery. In order for us to take cases on a contingency basis, you must suffer economic damages (i.e. lost wages, etc.) in an amount exceeding at least $40,000.

Meeting with Your Employment Law Attorney

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Meeting with Your Employment Law Attorney

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DISCLAIMER: This site and any information contained herein are intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. Seek competent counsel for advice on any legal matter.

Dallas, Austin, Houston, Statewide Texas: 214-969-9099

If you believe you may have a legitimate claim against your employer, please complete an employment law claim form and contact Kilgore & Kilgore, PLLC today. Our employment lawyers are committed to justice for victims of employer abuses.