Serving the Greater Austin Metro
Focus areas.
A map of the work. Each topic links to a page or an article. The practice serves the Greater Austin Metro.
Employment and labor
- Workplace investigationsAn outside employment lawyer as investigator: privilege, neutrality, credibility, and a finding on each allegation.
- Discrimination and harassmentPolicies, prevention, and responses to EEOC and Texas Workforce Commission charges.
- Retaliation and whistleblowingProtected complaints, and a response that does not punish the person who reported.
- Wrongful terminationAt-will Texas, the reason you will have to defend, and a record that matches it.
- Severance agreementsSeparation agreements, including the extra steps for a waiver of age claims.
- FMLA and other leaveFamily and medical leave, and the follow-up after the first decision.
- ADA accommodationDisability requests, the paperwork an employer may ask for, and a system that tracks them.
- Pregnancy and the PWFAKnown limitations related to pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.
- Military leave and USERRAMilitary leave and the reemployment rules that follow it.
- Texas leave questionsSorting which law applies when Texas has no general state family-leave act.
- Wage and hour, including FLSA overtimeExemption, overtime on bonuses, deductions, final pay, and Texas Payday Law claims.
- Drug testingWhat a Texas employer can test for, what the written policy should say, and where a test goes wrong.
- Background checksThe FCRA notices, criminal history, and a screening process the employer can explain.
- Social media in an investigationWhat a proper online search covers, the lines it has to respect, and how to keep what it finds.
- MisclassificationEmployee or contractor, and exempt or non-exempt, measured against the work actually done.
- Non-competes and restrictive covenantsTexas non-competes, non-solicits, confidentiality, and trade secrets.
- Employment contractsOffer letters, employment agreements, and contractor agreements.
- Handbooks and policiesHandbooks and stand-alone policies that match how the workplace runs.
- EEOC and TWC chargesPosition statements, requests for information, mediation, and the investigation underneath.
- UnemploymentTexas Workforce Commission responses, hearings, and the tax cost of a chargeback.
- Unions and the NLRAOrganizing, supervisor training, unfair labor practice charges, and bargaining.
- WARNFederal notice for a plant closing or mass layoff at a covered employer.
- Form I-9Completion, retention, and getting ready for an audit.
- Background checks and the FCRAThe disclosure, authorization, and adverse-action steps when a third party runs the check.
- Workplace privacyPersonnel files, medical information kept apart, and electronic monitoring.
- Workers’ compensationThe Texas coverage choice, injury reporting, and the leave questions an injury raises.
- Employment and labor arbitrationArbitration agreements, individual cases, and grievance arbitration.
- TrainingManager, HR, and employee sessions built on the employer’s own policies.
- DefamationFalse statements about a person or a business, including online reviews.
- Online defamationFalse posts and reviews, a request for correction, and when a lawsuit is worth what it costs.
- Finding a lawyerA first conversation that names the problem, the deadline, and the lawyer who should handle it.
- Common reasons to callFifty ordinary problems, the first thing to know about each, and whether the firm can take it or should refer it.
- Business lawFormation, the contracts the company runs on, and business disputes.
- General practiceEstate planning, and any other matter, heard and referred when another lawyer fits better.
Systems the firm can set up
- Engagement surveyDeveloped by Crawford Law. A one-time setup with management, then minimal maintenance.
- Compliance hotlineAvailable for setup. The employer is the client. Anonymous or named reports, accessible 24/7 and reviewed during business hours.
- Conflict-of-interest managementA policy, annual disclosures, review and mitigation, and a record of each decision.
- HR consultingEngagement, recognition, development, incentive pay, performance, and the programs behind them.
Insights
- 50 common reasons working Texans need a lawyer, and where to start with eachFinding a lawyer
- Drug testing in 2026: what Texas employers can test for, how to write the policy, and where it goes wrongDrug testing
- Background checks before hiring in Texas: the FCRA steps, criminal history, and a process you can defendBackground checks
- Social media investigations: what a proper online search looks like, and how posts can affect employment decisionsWorkplace investigations
- Online defamation: why it is everywhere, why so few people fight back, and how to set the record straightDefamation
- Why it is so hard to find a lawyer who will just talk to you, and how to get started anywayFinding a lawyer
- Why workplace accommodations are so tricky, and how to build a system that makes them workLeave and accommodations
- Employee engagement comes down to four things: communication, recognition, development, and servant leadershipEmployee engagement
- What happened in 1971? Productivity, Griggs v. Duke Power, and the case for merit systems you can defendOpinion
- “Treat your stars like stars”: is it illegal to treat high performers better, and how to do it without the lawsuitPerformance management
- Modern discipline in an at-will state: why the precedent you set is the law you live byDiscipline
- Incentive pay done right: let the system be the demanding boss, and know the laws that make it hardIncentive pay
- Solicitation policies in the age of Slack and GoFundMe: what the NLRB allows, and why one exception can become the ruleLabor relations
- Managing while you bargain: the status quo rule, direct dealing, and the everyday mistakes that create chargesLabor relations
- Union organizing and the NLRB in 2026: employee rights, unfair labor practice charges, and preparing your leadersLabor relations
- Non-compete agreements in Texas: what changed, what did not, and how to structure one under Texas lawNon-competes and trade secrets
- Conflicts of interest at work: the common ones, the hidden ones, and why timely disclosure solves most of themConflicts of interest
- Why employees hate engagement surveys, and the system Crawford Law built insteadEmployee engagement
- Employment and labor arbitration in Texas: what it hears, what it does not, and when an arbitration agreement is worth itArbitration
- Workplace training done right: mandatory, message-driven, and targeted training that actually changes behaviorTraining
- The job description problem: how getting job classification wrong creates accommodation, workers' comp, and misclassification riskJob descriptions
- Job descriptions are living documents: why to audit them, and why to keep updating themJob descriptions
- Affirmative action for federal contractors in 2026: what is still required, and what a well-run outreach program looks likeFederal contractor compliance
- Effective workplace investigations: speed, direct questions, and when an outside investigator is worth the costWorkplace investigations
- Texas unemployment claims: what an uncontested claim really costs an employerUnemployment claims
- Texas workers' compensation: what makes Texas different, and how employers should prevent and handle injuriesWorkers' compensation