At a press conference on Monday, ADAPT of Austin and the Texas Civil Rights Project announced the launching of a new Americans with Disabilities Act campaign to recognize the 20th anniversary of its creation.  The two organizations have filed over 20 disability discrimination lawsuits across the state.

One case was filed against U.S. Congressman Lamar Smith for not adding a ramp to his office, another against Duck Tours in Austin for not being wheelchair accessible, and another against the University of Texas School of Architecture for not providing full access to exhibits in Goldsmith Hall.  Another lawsuit is being filed against Seton Healthcare of Brackenridge for not providing a hearing-impaired patient with an interpreter.

Officials at the conference said they hope they can settle the issues outside of court, stating that the point was not to sue, but to obtain fair access to the places being sued.

If you or someone you love has been the victim of disability discrimination, contact the Houston disability discrimination attorneys of Ross Law Group at 713-482-6910 to learn more about your rights.

A Sears store in Corpus Christi recently settled a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for denying a 61-year old applicant a job position because of their age.  

The EEOC alleged that the Sears store on 1305 Airline Road did not hire a 61-year old applicant for an entry-level loss prevention/asset protection position despite 27 years of investigative experience and other qualifications, and violated the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.  

The settlement requires that Sears pay $30,750 to the applicant they refused to hire, has managers and supervisors review ADEA and Sears policy before signing to comply to these policies, provide training to employees on ADEA policy, and post a notice stating their intent to follow ADEA policies.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of age discrimination, contact the Houston age discrimination lawyers of The Ross Law Group at 713-482-6910 to learn more about your rights. 

The Houston unemployment rate is currently sitting at 8.3 percent, a little more than the state's 8 percent, but less than the United States' overall rate of 9.3 percent.  This means about a quarter of a million people in Houston are considered unemployed.  

Recently, officials have noticed that job postings at the state's employment office in Houston, Texas Workforce Solutions, have been steadily rising since February.  There are currently 3,500 posting a month, while the normal rate is considered to be between 4,000 and 5,000 a month.

However, employment officials believe that no matter a person's education or experience, wages are likely to be lower than they had previously earned.  "Over the last year, candidates have to be flexible in terms of their expectations of salary," stated a Houston staffing firm employee, Caroline McGlaun.  

If you or someone you know is not receiving the proper pay for the amount of work you do, contact the Houston wage and hour dispute attorneys of Ross Law Group at 800-634-8042 to learn more about your rights. 

Last month, the Labor Department of the White House announced the expansion of the Family and Medical Leave Act to include gay employees.  This change will require U.S. employers to give gay employees the same twelve month period of unpaid leave to help a sick or injured family member that straight employees have had since the act was created in 1993.

 Brian Moulton of the Human Rights Campaign stated, "It's a small step, but it's an important one".

In order to qualify under the FMLA, you must have worked for a company for at least 12 months and for at least 1250 hours in that time period.  

If your employer is not following the FMLA, contact the Houston Family and Medical leave attorneys of the Ross Law Group at 800-634-8042 to learn more about your rights.

Two women have sued the city of Dallas and the Dallas Fire-Rescue for sexual harassment and discrimination while working for the Fire-Rescue.

Helen Watts, who remains employed by the Fire-Rescue, reached a settlement of $30,000 from the city last month.  The settlement now just has to be approved by the City Council.  Watts sued the city in September of 2008 after her complaints that a coworker continuously propositioned her went ignored.   

Last year, Dallas Fire-Rescue was also sued by former Fire-Rescue executive general manager Leanne Siri-Edwards who expressed that she had faced sexual harassment and discrimination from high-ranking fire officials.  Siri-Edwards was the departments highest ranking female employee.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of sexual harassment, contact the Houston sexual harassment lawyers of the Ross Law Group at 800-634-8042 to learn more about your rights. 

The Dallas Area Rapid Transit board unanimously approved a transgender inclusive policy to be added to the business' anti-discrimination policy.  DART employees service the Dallas area in various forms of public transportation.

In response to the addition, Get EQUAL Now co-founder, C.D. Kirven, stated, "The only identification that really matters is human and that's a right no company should deny any employee".

The policy will ban the termination of an employee for being a transgender.  The way in which a person dresses or identifies themselves in regards to gender should not be discriminated against.  

If you or someone you know has been the victim of gender discrimination, contact the Houston gender discrimination lawyers of the Ross Law Group at 800-634-8042 to learn more about your rights.