Employment Claims

Employment class action lawsuits are typically brought on behalf of employees of a large company for claims ranging from systematic workplace discrimination, illegal hiring and promotion practices, wrongful termination policies and practices, unpaid unemployment benefits and unpaid overtime.

Some Common Employment Law Claims

Wrongful Termination of Employment/Demotion

The subject of wrongful employment termination is extremely broad and can only be briefly touched upon here. Generally speaking, Texas law follows the "at-will" employment doctrine. Under this doctrine, an employer generally is free to terminate or demote an at-will employee with or without just cause. However, there are numerous exceptions to this doctrine, many of which are discussed on this website. Some examples include being fired or demoted because of unlawful discrimination, or in retaliation for reporting safety complaints or illegal conduct by the employer. These exceptions permit even an "at-will" employee to bring a legal action against his or her employer for wrongful termination or demotion. The Johnston Law Firm is at the forefront of lawyers in Los Angeles and other Southern Texas cities representing employees in wrongful termination cases.

Employment Discrimination

It is unlawful for an employer to wrongfully termination, discriminate or harass an employee because of that employee's race, sex, color, national origin, religion, ancestry, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, marital status, medical condition, age, or sexual orientation. (There are also other types of unlawful discrimination discussed elsewhere on this site.) An experienced employment discrimination lawyer can evaluate whether you have a case.

USERRA - Discrimination Based on Military Service

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (“USERRA”) (38 U.S.C. §§4301-4333) prohibits discrimination in employment against individuals because of their service in the Armed Forces Reserve, the National Guard, or other uniformed services. It prohibits an employer from denying any benefit of employment on the basis of an employee's membership, application for membership, performance of service, application for service, or obligation for service in the uniformed services. USERRA also protects the right of veterans, reservists, National Guard members, and certain other members of the uniformed services to reclaim their civilian employment after being absent due to military service or training. The Act has three purposes: to increase civilian participation in the uniformed services; to minimize disruption in uniformed service members' lives; and to prohibit discrimination against service members. To achieve these goals, USERRA's provisions are liberally construed in favor of the service member, while employer defenses are narrowly construed and contrary state laws or private agreements are prohibited.

Sexual Harassment

Under state and federal law, even an "at-will" employee may bring a legal action against an employer or supervisor who has sexually harassed that employee. The victim of sexual harassment can be either male or female. Under Texas law, sexual harassment can include such things as: "Harassment" because of sex includes sexual harassment, gender harassment and harassment based on pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions.

Disability Discrimination

Disability discrimination lawyers primarily file cases using state and federal statutes that provide legal protection to employees who have been the victim of wrongful termination, harassment or discrimination because of a disability. These protections apply even to "at-will" employees, and to not require that the employee be actually terminated or demoted before bringing a claim.

Retaliatory Termination

At-will employees generally can be terminated with or without cause. However, Texas courts have recognized an exception to this rule in situations where an employee is terminated for an unlawful reason or for a purpose that violates a fundamental public policy. For example, it is wrongful for an employer to retaliate against an employee who reports, or threatens to report, an employer's unlawful activity to appropriate authorities. It is also wrongful for an employer to retaliate against an employee who makes safety complaints, or protests unlawful discrimination at the work place, or files a charge of unlawful discrimination. Retaliating against an employee who demands overtime pay or other wages is another yet example of wrongful retaliation, and there are many others. Again, an employee who has been discharged or demoted as the result of this type of retaliation may bring a lawsuit against the employer even if the employee is an at-will employee.

Pregnancy Discrimination

The Pregnancy Discrimination Act provides that women affected by pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions shall be treated the same for all employment-related purposes, including receipt of benefits under fringe benefit programs, as other persons not so affected but similar in their inability to work. Therefore it is unlawful sex discrimination for an employer to have leave of absence policies that treat disabilities due to pregnancy, childbirth or related conditions less beneficially than disabilities due to other medical conditions.

Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

An employee entitled to FMLA or CFRA leave is entitled to take a total of up to 12 workweeks of unpaid leave during any 12-month period for the following purposes:

• a serious health condition of the employee that makes the employee unable to perform the essential functions of his or her positions
• the care of spouse, son, daughter, or parent of the employee who has a serious health condition
• the birth of a son or daughter of the employee and the care of such son or daughter
• the placement of a son or daughter with the employee for adoption or foster care.

Depending on the circumstances, leave authorized under FMLA or CFRA does not have to be taken consecutively, but cannot exceed 12 weeks during any 12-month period.

Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA)

The Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) provides protection from harassment or discrimination in employment because of: Age (40 and over), Ancestry, Color, Religious Creed, Denial of Family and Medical Care Leave, Disability (mental and physical) including HIV and AIDS, Marital Status, Medical Condition (cancer and genetic characteristics), National Origin, Race, Religion, Sex, and Sexual Orientation.

Overtime Pay

It is a common misconception perpetrated by some unscrupulous employers that an employee is not entitled to overtime pay simply because they paid by salary rather than hourly. It is not at all unusual for salaried employees to be told by their employer that they have no legal right to overtime pay because they are not hourly workers. It is important to know, however, that under Texas law it is the nature of an employee's job duties, not their job title or the fact that they are paid a salary rather than by the hour, that determines whether or not that employee is entitled to overtime pay. Accordingly, it has been discovered in many cases, that employers have been wrongfully depriving employees of earned overtime pay.