So I guess the long and short of it is that for about the last two years, a company I work for has been writing hot paychecks to it's employees. People have had checks bounce, people have gone up to a month without being able to cash their paychecks. At first I never gave it much thought until it happened to me on several occasions, and then this summer every check I picked up between May and August was never good to cash from the get go.
I decided to not only expose this on social media, but also managed to net an interview with local media to further expose this as well. This would embolden and educate other employees to go to TWC and DOL. Ever since I have done this, I have been given much less hours than what I was working prior to this. Like literally, the day that I was interviewed by local media, they went to my boss to get his side of the story, and I was not scheduled for almost five days afterwards. The before and after on my time sheet is pretty clear in terms of before I exposed them and after.
Needless to say, I have been told by employees for TWC that I may have a case for retaliation, but they don't seem to know if being retaliated on for going to the media counts. I tried calling some legal aid office but they never pick up so I thought I'd ask here instead. So as the title of my thread mentions, do I in fact have a case if I pursued the matter legally ?
- 51MEANTXGUNS50
- 09-05-2016, 03:40 PM
- ShysterJon
- 09-05-2016, 04:13 PM
I'll answer your question in a minute, but if what you're saying is true, you're exposing your RW identity with this post.
- ShysterJon
- 09-05-2016, 04:35 PM
Texas is an employment-at-will state. This means that an employer can refuse work to any employee for any reason or no reason at all, as long as the employer doesn't deny work to the employee for an illegal reason, such as race, gender, or jury service.
Do you have a viable claim against your employer for retaliation for denying you work because you complained to the media because your employer has repeatedly issued rubber paychecks? No, I don't think so. If you have an employment contract, are a member of a union, or you work for a governmental entity, my answer may be different.
As an aside, there is a remedy for employees who aren't paid by their employers: The Texas Payday Law, Texas Labor Code, Chapter 61:
http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.u....61.htm#61.001
Do you have a viable claim against your employer for retaliation for denying you work because you complained to the media because your employer has repeatedly issued rubber paychecks? No, I don't think so. If you have an employment contract, are a member of a union, or you work for a governmental entity, my answer may be different.
As an aside, there is a remedy for employees who aren't paid by their employers: The Texas Payday Law, Texas Labor Code, Chapter 61:
http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.u....61.htm#61.001