News & Events

Businesses can be forgiven if there is confusion surrounding guidelines concerning the classification of workers as independent contractors vs. employees, and that’s because the rules on the federal level are constantly shifting.

In just 15 months, the Trump Department of Labor (DOL) issued a Final Rule that adopted an “economic realities test”, then the Biden DOL scuttled the Final Rule, and now a Texas federal judge has reinstated that former Final Rule.

The 87^th Texas Legislature met from January to May and then again in three more special sessions from July to October, giving lawmakers many opportunities to pass new bills in the Lonestar State.

There were a whopping 9,999 bills introduced in the regular session alone with 3,803 passed.

While many of the bills passed are ceremonial there are several new laws that affect Texas employers.

Compliance is a bit like flossing … you may not see immediate consequences from letting it slide, but the long-term repercussions ultimately reveal themselves.

Lax compliance protocols increase the risk that your small-to-medium size business runs afoul of local, state, and/or federal regulations.

For most business owners, compliance violations are more painful than the sound of any dentist’s drill.

As an employer in Texas, it is important that you understand overtime pay and overtime exemptions. If you fail to properly pay your employees, you could be violating federal law and state law. You may face fines and may have to pay your employees what they were legally owed plus penalties and interest. Unfortunately, not every employer fully understands overtime pay and overtime exemptions in the state of Texas, and the laws regarding exemptions recently changed at the start of 2020. Here is more information about overtime pay and overtime exemptions in Texas. 

Like all states, the state of Texas requires employers and employees to abide by certain labor laws, which govern issues such as minimum wage, overtime payments, meals and breaks, harassment, child labor and discrimination. In addition, employers in the state of Texas are also subject to all federal labor laws. In order to ensure ongoing compliance with these laws, Texas employers need to be aware of all current state and federal regulations, as well as any changes going into effect in the future. Below is some information about Texas labor laws in 2020. 

Every business owner knows they should have an exit strategy, because buying and/or selling a business can get pretty complicated, and they may be relying on a successful exit to retire or start their next venture. The thing is, keeping your business up and running, getting your work done AND ensuring you have a smooth, functioning exit strategy isn't easy. Usually business owners will develop their own organizational structure and internal office practices, and then hire employees to run them a specific way. This specific way is not usually the “right” way, but the way that the business owner has always done it and is afraid or overwhelmed by the thought of changing it.

To ensure long-term success, companies need to become as efficient and productive as possible, while still retaining the integrity of the company values. Since every organization is comprised of its workers, it only stands to reason that the HR department is the backbone of success. It’s the HR department’s job to not only help bring on engaged staff, but to quickly resolve issues as they develop. That role includes making sure that the HR department is in compliance.

Both Dallas and San Antonio recently passed city laws mandating paid sick leave. However, the status of these municipal ordinances remains unclear. Austin attempted to pass a similar sick pay ordinance in 2018 that was ultimately shot down.

There is something magical about hiring your first employee. Armed with the optimism of running a small- to medium-sized business (SMB), it is easy to get swept up in the romance of expansion while ignoring the hundreds of state and federal guidelines that govern hiring and onboarding a new employee. Still, ignorance is not bliss when it comes to the law; making HR compliance a necessary part of operations in an SMB. But where do you start to create a compliant organization? And more importantly, how do you maintain that compliance in the long run?

On March 7, 2019 the US Department of Labor (DOL) issued an update to their Overtime Rules that will make more than a million more American workers eligible for overtime. You can read the full notice here: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Overtime Update.