Moving You Forward

EMPLOYMENT PROBLEMS? WE CAN HELP.

Work problems can be devastating and leave your whole life in darkness.

Fitzgerald Law can help move you forward and into the light.

Tell us about your problem

Practice Areas

Discrimination

Discrimination related to gender, age, disability, race, etc.

Retaliation

Retaliation after employee complaints.

Equal Pay

Gender and equal pay disputes.

Contracts

Physician and other employment contracts,  etc.

Workplace Issues

Family and medical leave disputes (FMLA), safety violations, etc.

Non-Competes

Non-compete and non-solicitation agreements.

Pay Issues

Overtime and minimum wage violations.

Layoff

Separation and severance agreements.

Termination

Wrongful or illegal termination

Litigation

Litigation, arbitration and mediation of employment disputes.

Whistleblower

Whistleblower reports and retaliation claims.

Harassment

Sexual and other harassment in the workplace.

Pregnancy

Pregnancy and nursing issues.

Disability

Reasonable accommodations for disability.

Safety

OSHA safety violations.

Equal-Pay-in-Attorney-Fee-Awards-from-Fitzgerald-Law

Equal Pay in Attorney Fee Awards

In an interesting twist on equal pay issues, a judge pointed out that two female attorneys deserved the same hourly rate in the fee award as an older male co-counsel. After their client won an age...
State Bar of Texas Podcast from Fitzgerald Law

Addressing Sexual Harassment In The Workplace On The State Bar Of Texas Podcast

Several changes to the Texas labor codes have affected sexual harassment claims. On a recent State Bar of Texas Podcast episode, I talk with host Rocky Dhir about how these changes make it easier...
Gender Discrimination In The Workplace On Talking Confidence With Holly Caplan Podcast

Gender Discrimination In The Workplace On Talking Confidence With Holly Caplan Podcast

  Gender discrimination in the workplace is not an uncommon situation. I share my expertise on the subject with Holly Caplan on her podcast, Talking Confidence with Holly Caplan. Listen as I...
What-does-it-mean-to-solicit-from-Fitzgerald-Law

What Does It Mean To “Solicit”?

Many employers include a “non-solicitation” clause in agreements that they require employees to sign.  These non-solicitation clauses usually prohibit an employee from, directly or indirectly,...
Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021 | Fitzgerald Law

The Game Has Changed:  Forced Arbitration Of Sexual Harassment Claims To End

With broad bipartisan support, Congress passed the Ending Forced Arbitration of Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Act of 2021. President Biden is expected to sign this bill soon. The changes this...
Is This Retaliation

Is This Retaliation?

One question we face a lot in litigating retaliation claims is whether an employee has suffered “an adverse employment action.”  While deciding what kinds of things can be adverse employment actions...
Equal Pay: The Rate of Pay

Equal Pay: The Rate of Pay

How do you measure equal pay?  Is it the employee's base salary?  Or is it the employee's total compensation? A recent Fourth Circuit case, Sempowich v. Tactile Systems Technology, Inc., answered...
The Chicken or The Egg

The Chicken or the Egg?

One of the most frustrating things right now for job seekers is that employers are screaming they cannot find enough employees.  Yet, thousands of well-qualified people remain unable to find a job. ...
Employment and the Computer Fraud Abuse Act

Employment and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act

If you are lucky, you will go through your entire life without knowing what the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (“CFAA”) is or how it applies to employment law. In recent years, the issue of what types...
Fix The Problem the First Time

Fix the Problem The First Time

When you know about a pay disparity, fix it before you get told by a court to fix it. Too often, a company knows of pay disparities between male and female employees.  Yet, the company does not fix...
Get the Shot or Be Fired Vaccination Requirement for Covid-19

Get The Shot Or Get Fired?

President Biden issued an Executive Order compelling companies with more than 100 employees to require all employees to be vaccinated or provide proof of weekly negative COVID-19 tests. This also...
Perils of Working Remotely

The Perils of Working Remotely

Many companies are now asking—or demanding — that employees return to work in the office. Many employees don’t want to go back. Employees loved the flexibility of remote work and not making long...
What is happening with Non-Compete Agreements

What Is Happening With Non-Compete Agreements?

A stubborn myth is non-compete agreements are not enforceable in Texas. Nothing could be further from the truth. New clients regularly tell me that the non-compete agreement they signed is not...
Sexual Harassment in Texas: What You Need To Know

Sexual Harassment in Texas Now: What You Need to Know

Big changes to the law in Texas on sexual harassment become effective on September 1, 2021.  These new changes have gotten surprisingly little publicity but make it easier to pursue a sexual...
Laws Requiring the Disclosure of Salaries: A Welcome Trend

Laws Requiring the Disclosure of Salaries: A Welcome Trend

Connecticut recently passed a law that will require employers to provide wage range information to employees and job applicants for their positions.  This law becomes effective in October 2021.  In...
What is discrimination?

What is Discrimination?

The EEOC recently sued Autos of Dallas, a luxury auto retailer in Plano, for race discrimination. At a holiday party, Autos of Dallas awarded its African American salesman a trophy that labeled him...
What Sayeth The Jury?

What Sayeth The Jury?

A little more than a year ago, jury trials screeched to a halt with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Over the year, courts across the country grappled with when and how to hold jury trials...
What is wage theft?

What is Wage Theft?

Wage theft is one of the most common types of theft each year. Sadly, it is rarely prosecuted.  A 2017 study by the Economic Policy Institute found the employees lose close to $8 billion each year...
Equal Pay: Substantially Equal Does Not Always Mean Identical

Equal Pay: Substantially equal ≠ identical

Every pay discrimination case involves determining whether the jobs being compared are substantially equal. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently reminded everyone that when it comes to...
Health Insurance: Help Has Arrived

Health Insurance: Help has arrived.

The loss of health insurance benefits is one of the worst things about losing a job. Families often worry about how they will afford necessary medical treatment and pay for expensive prescription...
Religious Discrimination in North Texas

Religious Discrimination in North Texas

The EEOC recently obtained a judgment and injunctive relief against a North Texas healthcare provider for religious discrimination and retaliation. The facts are troubling.  The owner of the...
But Your Husband Has a Job

But Your Husband Has A Job…

For decades, companies paid female employees less because "her husband has a job" or because a male coworker "has a family to support." Finally, a court called this pay practice what it is:  blatant...
Racial Slurs in the Workplace

Racial Slurs in the Workplace

Discrimination takes many forms.  One form is a hostile work environment created when an employee is subjected to racial slurs and a racially intimidating, hostile, or offensive working environment...
equal pay it is fundamental

Equal Pay: It is Fundamental

The importance of equal pay just got a shout out in a recent Fifth Circuit case. The money quote is: “Equality of opportunity is fundamental to who we are, and to who we aspire to be, as a nation....
covid-19-vaccines

The COVID-19 Vaccines

With the first vaccines approved to fight the COVID-19 virus, many ask if an employer can require a COVID-19 vaccination as a condition of employment. The answer is complicated.    The first place...
Goals Gone Bad - Fitzgerald Law

Goals Gone Bad

Most people are ready to see the end of 2020 and are actively looking forward to the new year.  As with any new year, many people will be setting personal and business goals for 2021. I am a firm...
Check yourself at the Zoom holiday party

Check Yourself

This is a strange year.  Normally, I’d be writing a blog that outlines the perils of the office holiday party. Not this year. It is safe to say that the office holiday party will not take place in...
Stop Joking and Start Leading

Stop Joking and Start Leading

Stop Joking and Start Leading Dallas sportscaster Dale Hansen recently stepped into controversy when he made a bad joke about women’s pay. In an on-air conversation with meteorologist Pete Delkus,...
blowing the whistle on tax fraud

Blowing the Whistle on Tax Fraud

As the end of the year approaches, many companies proactively work to minimize their tax obligations. However, some companies take tax avoidance too far and move into tax fraud. In 2019, Congress...
Change The Law - Fitzgerald Law

Change The Law

If you do not like the law, change the law. Sometimes, badly drafted laws lead to an unjust outcome. When that happens, we need to change the law. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the revered United States...