By Steven Garrett, Associate Attorney, Boulette Golden & Marin L.L.P.

On March 26, 2015 a Federal Court in Wichita Falls, Texas temporarily halted the Department of Labor’s new FMLA rule, described below, pending a full determination on the merits. The temporary stay is the result of a lawsuit filed by the State of Texas and others. Effective March 27, 2015 the DOL had revised their regulations under the Family and Medical Leave Act to define a spouse according to the “place of celebration” instead of “the state of residence.” For example, if a same-sex couple was married in California and then moved to Texas under the “place of celebration” rule, employers in Texas would have to consider the couple legally married for purposes of administering the FMLA. Simply put, eligible employees would have been able to take FMLA leave to care for their same sex spouse with a serious health condition, take qualifying exigency leave due to their same-sex spouse’s covered military service, or take military caregiver leave for their same-sex spouse. The March 26 ruling means that, for now, if an employer grants leave to an employee for one of these purposes, that leave does not count against the employee’s 12-week allotment of FMLA. Stay tuned.

By Ann Price, Partner, Boulette Golden & Marin L.L.P.

On March 25, 2015, in Young v. United Parcel Service, Inc., the Supreme Court announced a new standard for whether a claim of pregnancy discrimination based on the denial of an accommodation should be decided by a jury or dismissed by summary judgment.

A New Standard for Pregnancy Discrimination Cases

Peggy Young claimed that United Parcel Service, Inc. (“UPS”) unlawfully

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Boulette Golden & Marin L.L.P. Partner Michael Marin will moderate a CLE Panel presentation entitled “Ethical Issues in Employment Investigations and Litigation” at the Hispanic National Bar Association Corporate Counsel Conference to be held in San Antonio, in March 2015. Mr. Marin serves as chair of the 2015 CLE Committee for the national conference that will  present experts in over 24 programs in four tracks:  In-House & Corporate Counsel, Litigation & Business Law, Public Interest & Government, and Business Development. Additional information on the convention is available at the HNBA Website.

Boulette Golden & Marin L.L.C. partner Mike Golden worked successfully with Jay Old & Associates to win a favorable verdict in and employment discrimination case. Read more >>>

Boulette Golden & Marin L.L.P. Partner Ann Abrams Price will give a presentation entitled “Hot Goods and Fair Labor Standards Act Compliance” Thursday, February 19, 2005. Ms. Price will be addressing the annual convention of the Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association in San Marcos. Additional information on the convention is available at the Association’s website.
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Thinking about breastfeeding is not usually on the top of an employer’s to-do list. However, for employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), it is a topic that cannot be ignored.

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Jason is pleased to present at the upcoming UT Law CLE Live Conference on Patent Law this Friday afternoon.  He will be presenting on “Using Social Media Ethically” – An exploration of some of the aggressive uses of social media by companies, employees, and attorneys, including the legal and ethical boundaries being recognized by some and ignored by others. Particular attention is given to the Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, the Stored Communications Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and the National Labor Relations Act and the limits each impose on the use of social media as a weapon in litigation. The admissibility of social media evidence at trial is also addressed.

View conference website: https://utcle.org/conferences/PT14#overview

Our own Jason Boulette is honored to speak at the 23rd Annual Bench Bar Conference (Dallas) in Horseshoe Bay this Friday, October 24th on the topic of Ethics: The True Cost of Representation.  If attending, please look for him and say hello!

We’re pleased to announce that Jason Boulette, Mike Golden, Ann Price, and Michael Marin were named Texas Super Lawyers, and Tanya Dement has been named a “Rising Star“.

Ann was honored to speak at the TAPS CLE Seminar this morning about “Lessons Learned: How to Respond to Administrative Charges of Discrimination.”  We’re happy she could support the State Bar of Texas and arm their bright paralegals with tools for success!