Several celebrations of Martin Luther King Day are taking place in Houston today.  For example, the 34th Annual "Original" MLK Birthday Parade organized by the Black Heritage Society began at 10 a.m. this morning at the intersection of Texas and Crawford.  The parade's grand marshal was Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.

In addition, the MLK Grande Parade began at Elgin and San Jacinto at the same time.  After both parades, the BHF is continuing their celebration with a party at Discovery Green.  The party also includes a concert, and will last until 5 p.m. tonight.  

At 12 p.m., the Children's Museum of Houston held a peace rally with a reading of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s  "I Have a Dream" speech.  The speech was read by Pleansantville Elementary School's MLK Oratory winner, 10-year old Matthias McBride.  The museum has MLK Day events all day and is $5 to visit.

Rice University is celebrating MLK Day with a candlelight vigil at 5 p.m.  The event is being held at Rice Memorial Center Chapel, and will feature Rev. William Lawson of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church.

The Houston employment lawyers of Ross Law Group hope everyone has a chance to enjoy these Martin Luther King Day events.  To read more about today's celebrations, see Culture Map Houston.

The University of Houston recently accepted an invitation to the 2012 TicketCity Bowl at the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas.  The University of Houston Cougars will be playing the Penn State University Nittany Lions on January 2 at 11 a.m.

U of H football has a 12-1 record and Penn State has a 9-3 record.  The two teams have played each other twice before.

The Cougars have played at the Cotton Bowl four times and won in 1976 and 1979.  Tickets to the 2012 TicketCity Bowl can be purchased online through the Houston Athletics Ticket Office and in person at the Athletics Alumni Center.

The game will be televised on ESPNU. 

The Houston employment lawyers of Ross Law Group would like to congratulate the University of Houston and the football team on their success.

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An East Texas Target employee recently filed suit against the company accusing them of creating a hostile work environment, discrimination of the employee's medical condition, intentional infliction of emotional distress, retaliation, constructive discharge, negligent hiring, and more.

George Alan Roberts filed the suit against Target Corp. claiming that the store team leader where he worked, Marcus Johnson, continously harassed him to the point that his diabetes worsened and he had to take medical leave.  After returning from medical leave, Roberts requested to be transferred to another store.  His request was not granted until a year later.

If you or someone you know has questions about filing an employment lawsuit in Texas, contact the Houston employment attorneys of Ross Law Group at 800-634-8042 to set up an appointment to speak with one of our lawyers.

Krista M. Boggs of Denton filed a lawsuit against her former employer, Automotive Operations, for violating the Family and Medical Leave Act last month in the Sherman Division of the East District of Texas.

Boggs was employed by the defendant, operating as Pat Lobb Toyota of McKinney, from October 2006 to October 2008 as a car title administrator.  In August 2008, Boggs requested 30 days of family medical leave to attend to her husband who was suffering from diabetes-related complications.  She later requested a four week extension.  Upon returning on Oct. 29th, 2008 her things were packed and she was terminated from her position.

A Human Resources Manager at the company offered Bogg a position as a cashier, however Bogg was unable to take the position due to an arm injury that would not let her perform the repetitive tasks that a cashier's position would require.  

Boggs is seeking damages for loss of earning capacity, mental anguish and stress, financial and punitive damages and attorney's fees.

If you or someone you know has been the victim of a violation of FMLA regulations, contact the Houston Family and Medical Leave Attorneys of Ross Law Group at 713-482-6910 to learn more about your rights.

Last month, Texas salesman Stephen T. Nourse filed a lawsuit against his former employer for breach of contract in the Eastern District of Texas.  Nourse worked for Kentucky-based global marketing and print media company Southern Graphic Systems Inc..

Nourse claims in the filing that he performed his job and obligations as requested in his employment contract but was fired on July 30th.  Nourse's employment agreement required that termination from his position have good cause which he feels did not.  

Nourse is seeking damages over $75,000 plus additional lawyer's fees, court costs, and interest.

If you or someone you know needs their employment contract reviewed, contact the Houston employment contract attorneys of Ross Law Group at 713-482-6910 to learn more about your rights. 

Michaels Stores Inc., based in Texas, was recently found guilty of violating the Family Medical Leave Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.  The company will pay $8.1 million to a former employee who was fired after taking medical leave to receive treatments for breast cancer.

Kara Jorud filed the suit against Michaels after she was unjustly fired from her managerial position at a store in Boca Raton, Florida.  Jorud underwent a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with breast cancer in August 2005.  Afterwards, she took a six week medical leave during which she says she received countless calls from the store's District Manager to return to work.  Jorud cut her time off short and returned after less than a month for fear of losing her job.  Officials at Michaels also accused Jorud of theft before firing her which they later dismissed as being false.  

The award is divided between $4 million for pain and suffering, $4 million for damages, and $100,000 for lost wages. 

If you or someone you know has suffered due to violations of the FMLA, contact the Houston family and medical leave attorneys of Ross Law Group at 713-482-6910 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.