Newsflash for Employers – Religious Discrimination
The EEOC has just filed a suit against an Employer (Decostar) who, according to the EEOC, discriminated against their employee because the Employer attempted to force the employee to work overtime against their religious beliefs. The release by the EEOC reads in part: “According to the EEOC’s suit, Decostar violated federal law by firing Dina […]
General Counsel for the Small Business Owner
With our economy starting to recover over the past few months, we are seeing many small business owners prepare to re-enter the market or expand their services. New clients are sought, new deals are negotiated, and new contracts are needed. To help our client’s navigate the maze of new legal cases which are decided every […]
Why Outside General Counsel? Part 2~Negotiation of Office Leases and Insurance Policies.
In The Woodlands Texas, and especially in the Greater Houston, Texas area, one of the unfortunate consequences of the recent downturn of oil and gas prices, has been what is often phrased as a “buyer’s market” in the commercial real estate market. Many businesses have decided to take advantage of this by investigating new […]
Why Outside General Counsel? Part 1….
Occasionally, it is necessary for an organization to conduct an inquiry to discover salient facts which pertains to acts or omissions that can generate civil or criminal liability for an organization. Whether it be irregular stock trades, allegations of illegal employment discrimination, a civil lawsuit, a key employees sudden departure, or a grand jury subpoena, […]
Outside General Counsel Program for Small Business Owners
After planning for many months, Thomas M Fountain & Associates, PLLC is now offering a new program focused toward the small business owner. While most large and even medium sized business have hired attorneys to act as General Counsel, most small companies and those in the start up modes, do not wish to allocate funds […]
National Law Day 2015 – One’s Right to Question
Today we celebrate National Law Day and it brings to me many memories of why I decided to attend law school as a young man. While growing up in Galveston County, Texas I was able to see many different aspects of our small community such as the elections, the court system, and our peace officers […]
United States Supreme Court Decision Narrows Employer Liability in Employee Harrassment Lawsuits
Yesterday, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a ruling in a case styled Vance v Ball State. In their ruling, the Court held that, for purposes of determining whether an employer is vicariously liable for hostile actions of an employee, that person must be a supervisor. The Court went on to state that […]