Thomas J. Crane

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

Latest Articles

In civil lawsuits, we do these things known as “depositions.” We depose a witness with no judge present. The depositions usually occur in lawyer’s offices, but they can take place anywhere. The two warring sides meet up and the only brake on poor behavior are social norms. In a deposition in Las Vegas, a lawyer was deposing the person who had accused him of defamation. The lawyer, James Pengilly, was sued for defamation. Mr. Pengilly…
In your average lawsuit, this is not supposed to happen. Key witnesses are not supposed to suddenly recall something they have previously denied. Yet, that is what happened in the 2020 Census lawsuit. Wilbur Ross, the head of the Commerce department, now suddenly does recall conversations with then advisor Steve Bannon and Attorney General Jeff Sessions about the citizenship question. The Commerce department is responsible for the census in 2020. Secretary Ross added a question…
The Americans with Disabilities Act provides that a person is entitled to an accommodation if needed. But, sometimes the need for accommodation is not so apparent. Back injuries are notorious for being unpredictable. Russell Holt applied for a job with BNSF railway. He received a job offer conditional on passing a physical exam. Mr. Holt had a history of back surgery. His medical doctor and medical information supported a positive result. But, the employer’s doctor,…
Every discrimination case involves some amount of he said/she said. Most acts of discrimination occur behind closed doors. So, the testimony will be all about a swearing match. But, that does not mean the two stories cannot be confirmed or denied. In a discrimination case, we would want to know, for example, the circumstances behind a demotion or a firing. Does the story make sense? Do the surrounding details support or undermine the main story…
In another case about immigrants, Pres. Trump’s racist remarks about immigrants were used as evidence against him. This judge, Edward Chen in San Fransisco, ruled in favor of the immigrants partly based on the President’s comments about Mexican immigrants, about Muslims and about immigrants from some African countries. Judge Chen ruled that to the extent the President had influence on the head of Homeland Security Department may have implemented certain restrictions due to the President’s…
College football players are the very definition of the “Big Man on Campus.” But, some football coaches do not want their players thinking they are so big. At Texas Christian University, a football player wanted to cut in line at the on-campus Chick-Fil-A, saying he was a football player. The student tweeted about it. Tasla said she and Lexee did not care and did not let him cut in line. “do we LOOOOK like we…
English-only policies are acceptable if they are related to safety concerns. Otherwise, they are generally viewed by most courts as evidence of discrimination. English-only policies are also rare as hen’s teeth in San Antonio. Yet, according to a recently filed lawsuit, La Cantera imposed an English-only work rule for its workers. But, if the allegations are to be believed, the policy only applied to Spanish speakers. Farsi  speakers could speak in Farsi at work. The…
poison
Why is it so hard to speak up at a toxic work culture? The Harvard Business Review described what occurred at Nike when some women informally surveyed other female employees and found a problem. As a result, top male executives are having and bias training has ben instituted. The real problem started long before those women started their own survey. It started when some female em-loyees went to Human Resources and found no assistance. As…
One huge problem with Pres. Trump is his apparent inability to tell the truth. Bob Woodward’s book recounts the story that to prepare the President to be interviewed by Robert Mueller, his attorney staged a mock interview. John Dowd wanted to prepare his client, so he put together a mock interview. The President could not get through without telling some obvious lies, according to the book. Mr. Dowd was quite frustrated. Not the least because…
That was an unwise decision by the U.S. Supreme Court a few weeks ago. In the case of Janus v. American Federation of State and County Municipal Employees, No. 16-1466 (6/27/2018), the court ruled that employees who are not members of a union cannot be compelled to pay reduced dues, even though they accept the benefits of the union bargaining. See the Janus decision here. It was a legal theory that had kicked around…