During the recent recession, many companies have cut costs by conducting mass layoffs. These layoffs often result in the loss of hundreds or thousands of jobs in a short period of time.

When a large number of employees are laid off, the employees often receive a severance package or some other form of benefits. While many employees accept these benefits and move on, others believe that they are owed more. In some cases, they may be right. State and federal law mandates certain requirements for employers who conduct mass layoffs. 

If you have recently been laid off and have questions about your job firing, contact the Houston employment attorneys of the Ross Law Group at 800-634-8042. 

When an employee performs a service for an employer, the time spent performing that service is generally considered to be working time. Under wage and hour laws, the employee must be fairly compensated for any working time. 

Working time not only includes the time working under normal hours but also includes any time spent working outside of normal hours. For instance, if an employee works overtime, then the employer must pay that employee a fair overtime compensation. 

If you believe you have not been fairly compensated for the work you have performed, contact the Houston fair compensation attorneys of the Ross Law Group at 800-634-8042.

Wage and hour laws help goven minimum wage and other working requirements. They include the Fair Labor Standards Act, which establishes a federal minimum wage and requires overtime compensation. 

These federal statutes are often strengthened in some states. These laws also govern whether and under what conditions children may work. 

If you have questions about wage and hour laws, contact the Houston employment attorneys of the Ross Law Group at 800-634-8042.

Employers often monitor employees in the workplace to ensure that the employees are being productive and working in the company's best interests. Some common monitoring strategies include using a supervisor or tracking the employee's online workplace content. 

However, employees have some right to privacy. For instance, employees have a right to privacy in their telephone communications. These communications can only be monitored if the employer warns the employee and does so in the normal course of business. 

While phone conversations and voice mails have some degree of privacy, emails are not afforded the same level of privacy. In most cases, an employee's emails are not protected and can be viewed by the employer. 

If you have questions about your privacy rights in the workplace, contact the Houston employment attorneys of the Ross Law Group at 800-634-8042.

The Equal Pay Act is meant to protect against discrimination in wage or benefit payments. The idea behind the act is that men and women who perform similar work, have similar skills, and exert similar effort should not be subject to gender discrimination.

This scope of this act, however, is limited by a number of provisions. For instance, employers are not allowed to decrease payments to either sex in order to equalize pay. 

If you have questions about the Equal Pay Act, contact the Houston gender discrimination lawyers of the Ross Law Group at 800-634-8042.

A Houston company may be fined about $1.5 million for an explosion that killed one employee. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, CES Environmental Sevices Inc. was fined because for the explosion that was ignited by vapors inside a tank. 

A spokesperson for the company said it will fight the penalties and claimed that the worker who was killed did not properly follow safety procedure. 

Accidents such as tank explosions can occur for many different reasons. If you or anyone you have lost a loved one in a worksite accident, contact the Houston employment lawyers of the Ross Law Group at 800-634-8042.