Thomas J. Crane

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Firm/Organization: Law Office of Thomas J. Crane
Blogs: San Antonio Employment Law Blog

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Some judges are exceedingly difficult. Judge Lynn Hughes in Houston seems to consistently press folks’ buttons. Most recently, he has barred a female Assistant U.S. Attorney from his court. Tina Ansari has appeared in Judge Hughes’ court twice in the past few weeks. She was excused from the court by Judge Hughes both times right after she announced her name for the court reporter. Meaning right after saying hello, the judge told her to leave.…
The recent government shutdown can have a profound impact on federal workers. Research by management experts shows that the threat of imminent uncertainty, such as furlough or layoff, can be just as stressful as the furlough or layoff itself. A management professor at West Chester University, Anthony Wheeler, says psychologically, they are the same, the threat to one’s sense of security is the same. The more often the worker hears the threat, such as Presidential…
Most large employers have employee handbooks, those set of policies that explain things like vacation and sick leave, discipline, etc. Employers will often describe how they are “binding” and must be followed. But, legally, they are not binding, at all. They look thorough and professional and provide some comfort to employees in an uncertain world. They are generally not binding on the employer. They are nothing more than a guideline.  If the employer included a…
You know, there is nothing good about racism. Of course. But, we seem to have become lynching parties whenever the least evidence of racism rears its ugly head. The new Mary Poppins movie has been attacked because it supposedly revives a racist portion of the famous Julie Andrews version. In the original movie, Mary Poppins dons a bit of black on her face when she dances with the chimney sweeps. I have always assumed that…
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Courtesy www.freeimages.com
Defamation refers to uttering an untruthful statement about someone. “Libel” refers to written defamation. “Slander” refers to oral defamation. In the employment context, defamation has an extra hurdle. In Texas, to constitute defamation at work, the defamation must be made in the course and scope of employment. That is, the defamatory statement must be related to the speaker’s job. So long as the speaker makes the statement to persons with a duty or need to…
Great Hall
Luis Cristain sustained an injury at work. His employer, Hunter Buildings and Manufacturing, fired him soon after he fell from scaffolding. Eight days later and a few days after filing a claim for worker’s compensation benefits, the employer moved him to a position where he would be supervised by Kevin Edmonds. Mr. Edmonds had already been scrutinizing Mr. Cristain’s performance. Now, he would have direct supervision. The job was a new job, which did not…
Great Hall
One of the more difficult problems for employers is harassment by unknown co-workers. The law was designed for harassment by supervisors. It functions not so well when the harassment is caused by co-workers. In Tolliver v. YRC, Inc., No. 17-10294, 2018 US LEXIS 17806 (5th Cir. 6/28/2018), African-American workers were harassed in various ways for over 15 years. The black workers encountered racist graffiti, nooses, and other incidents. The district court refused to allow evidence…
Well, the Tarrant County (Ft. Worth) Republican party voted to keep Dr. Shafi in his position as Vice-Chairman of the party. By a vote of 139-49, the precinct chairpersons voted to keep the doctor in his position. I previously wrote about this vote here. A lady named Dorrie O’Brien and others had pushed the idea that because he was Moslem, he had some connection to jihadists. That notion would be humorous if it was…
Dr. Shahid Shafi is finding much support among the Republican party in his quest to remain vice-chairman of the Tarrant County Republican Party. Gov. Greg Abbott and Sen. Ted Cruz have both issue statements supporting the doctor. The vote to remove Dr. Shafi is set for next week. I previously rote about this discriminatory attempt to remove the doctor here. See CNN report about this attempted removal here. That really is the silliest…
The battle over whether individual arbitration agreements can prevent class actions was settled with the decision in Epic Systems v. Lewis, 138 S.Ct. 1612 (2018). That decision found that workers who signed individual arbitration agreements with his/her employer could not later file suit as a class or collective action. Employers viewed this decision favorably. But, now, maybe not so much. See what has happened with what was intended to be a collective action against Chipotle.…