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Whistleblower Landing Page

Whistleblower Law Firm

At the Texas employment law firm of Shellist, Lazarz & Slobin, LLP we believe that freedom of speech is one of the hallmarks of a democracy … as well as of a healthy labor marketplace. Those who are closest to wrongdoing are often the first to realize that it is happening. They often have the most reliable information about details of illegal or unethical business or public service practices.

In the past, employees have been suspended, fired, or discriminated against after reporting the violations of law they witnessed on the job to appropriate law enforcement agencies. If you have experienced this type of mistreatment from your government or private employer, contact the whistleblower protection act attorneys at Shellist, Lazarz & Slobin, LLP to schedule a consultation.

Other Whistleblower Protections:
Sarbanes-Oxley Act,
Qui Tam Provision of the Federal Civil False Claims Act

Our Texas whistleblower protection act attorneys believe in the importance of free speech, especially about wrongdoing at the workplace. We also believe that when employees are retaliated against for speaking out, their employers should be penalized.

Therefore, we are enthusiastic supporters of the Texas Whistleblower Protection Act. Originally enacted in 1983, the act has since been amended extensively by later acts of legislature and interpreted by court cases which clarified its scope and intent. We agree with the principles of the Whistleblower Protection Act which state that public employees cannot be penalized by their state government employers when they have reported a violation of law, in good faith.

In addition to the Texas Whistleblower Protection Act, various federal statutes protect whistleblowers as well, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Qui Tam provision of the Federal Civil False Claims Act. Thanks to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, private companies that are publicly traded under the jurisdiction of the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) are prohibited from penalizing whistleblowers in much the same way that public employers are by the Texas Whistleblower Act.

According to the Qui Tam provision of the Federal Civil False Claims Act, private citizens are allowed to file lawsuits in the name of the U.S. Government charging government contractors and others who receive or use government funds with fraud. In case their lawsuits are successful, they receive a portion of any money recovered through the lawsuit.

Applying Whistleblower Protection Acts to Your Case

We are thoroughly versed not only in the details of these and related whistleblower laws, but we understand exactly how to legally proceed when whistleblowers have been penalized by employers.

We will evaluate your situation to determine whether you have suffered any of the following prohibited effects of your whistleblowing:

  • Was your compensation for work decreased or frozen following your report of an alleged violation of the law at your place of work?
  • Were you denied promotions, or worse, were you demoted after the whistleblowing?
  • Were you transferred to a remote location, or were your work assignments changed or reduced, perhaps to keep you out of the path of information related to the alleged illegal activity?
  • Were you penalized through adverse performance evaluations after you reported alleged violations of the law?
  • Were you asked to resign and accept an inadequate severance package following your whistle blowing - against your better judgment?
  • In sum, were you clearly discriminated against at the workplace because of your willingness to speak up about violations of health and safety codes?

If we believe you have suffered economic or other types of injuries because you spoke out as a whistleblower, we will help you as we have helped many other clients. We will assist you in filing a complaint with the Occupational Safety and Health Agency, or in filing a lawsuit according to the provisions of Qui Tam. We will examine other remedies you might pursue … and support your efforts to obtain relief following retaliation for whistle blowing. Contact us to schedule a initial consultation on your whistle blowing issue.

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Successes

  • $730K settlement awarded in gender discrimination case

    A federal court jury Friday returned a $730,000 gender discrimination judgment in favor of Surina Dixon - who was hired as women's basketball coach at Texas Southern University in March 2008 but left in a contract dispute without coaching a game.

  • $3.2M settlement awarded in sexual harassment case

    A former Brazoria County judge has been ordered to pay more than $3 million to three women who say he sexually harassed them while he was on the bench.

  • $875,000 Settlement in Whistleblower suit against the City of Houston

    The city council agreed to pay $875,000 to a veterinarian who successfully sued the City of Houston; after he was unfairly fired from his job at the city's animal pound for complaining of animal abuse at the kennel. The jury found him retaliated against by his superiors who fired him with prejudice.

  • Wage & Hour Settlement in the amount of $574,000

    Our firm represented 70 current and former servers of a restaurant chain that required its servers to share a portion of their tips with the managers and owners of the restaurant.

  • $375,000 Jury Verdict in a Gender Discrimination suit against the Houston Police Department

    The jury found a female HPD cadet was discriminated against because of her gender when she was fired from the cadet class. HPD said she violated the Cadet Code of Conduct by carrying a gun in her personal car; however there were previous cases where male cadets were only reprimanded and not terminated.

  • Sexual Harassment Settlement in excess of $300,000

    Our firm represented several employees who were sexually harassed by a male supervisor. After obtaining a letter of determination from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, our firm was able to negotiate a settlement in excess of $300,000.

  • Verdict in excess of $300,000 in National Origin Discrimination Case

    Our firm represented a former dental professor at the University of Texas Health & Science Center who was discriminated against based on his national origin. At trial, we provided evidence of racial slurs, retaliation, and disparate wages in comparison to white professors. After two days of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the professor and awarded mental anguish damages in excess of $150,000.

  • $250,000 Jury Verdict in a Racial Discrimination suit against Montgomery County Sheriff's Department

    The jury found the Lieutenant was demoted from a Detective to Recruiting because he is black. He was terminated six months after complaining to authorities. The jury agreed the termination was a form of retaliation and awarded him lost wages past and future.

  • $229,268 Jury Verdict in a Reverse Discrimination suit against the Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority ("Metro")

    A white male employee sued the Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority ("Metro") alleging race discrimination in violation of Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code. The employee was denied a promotion to the position of Superintendent despite being the most qualified person for the position. The jury found that the interview panel was tainted by a person on the panel, the second term president of the local chapter of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials ("COMTO"), and an organization which promotes the creation of opportunities for minorities.

  • Same-Sex Sexual Harassment Settlement in excess of $150,000

    Our firm represented a male employee who was sexually harassed by another male employee at a construction company. We were able to open dialogue with the construction company and bring about a quick resolution for our client.

  • Wage & Hour Settlement in excess of $149,000

    Our firm represented 16 current and former waitresses at two popular bars that required their waitresses to work off-the-clock and to share a portion of their tips with members of management. The bar also failed to pay its waitresses overtime for hours they worked in excess of 40 in a work week. Our firm was able to demonstrate that the bar's actions were in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act, which resulted in settlement.

  • Arbitration award in excess of $120,000 in a Breach of Employment Contract suit.

    An employee of a Houston based company was terminated in breach of his employment contract. The company alleged that the employee had performance issues which allowed the company to terminate the employee under its "for cause" provision. Our firm was able to show that the alleged performance issues were false and that the company breached the employment agreement by terminating the employee prior to the expiration of the term of the agreement.

  • $115,000 Jury Verdict in a Racial Discrimination suit against the INS

    The jury found the INS discriminated against a black inspector. The inspector filed a complaint with authorities in the department for being passed over for promotion. The jury determined that passengers were solicited and asked to prepare written complaints against the employee to be used against him as a basis for termination. . The jury found the INS acted with prejudice toward the inspector.

  • $106,000 Jury Verdict in Wrongful Termination suit against the City of Houston

    The jury found the city acted with malice in firing a dog-catcher for reporting instances of animal cruelty and racial discrimination of Hispanic workers to a supervisor. Jurors concluded the city violated the state whistle-blower law, which prevents government agencies from retaliating against employees simply for reporting problems.

  • Wage & Hour Settlement in the amount of $100,000

    We filed suit on behalf of six servers of a fine dining establishment under the Fair Labor Standards Act, arguing that the restaurant's requirement that its servers share a percentage of their tips with the restaurant's manager was in violation of federal law. The parties were able to reach resolution of the matter at mediation.

  • Wage & Hour Settlement in the amount of $100,000

    The firm filed a collective action under the Fair Labor Standards Act on behalf of five current and former servers of a fine dining establishment, arguing that the restaurant violated federal law by failing to pay its servers overtime, requiring them to work off-the-clock, and requiring that its servers share a portion of their tips with the restaurant's manager on duty. After notice of the lawsuit was mailed to other current and former servers, an additional seven servers joined the lawsuit. The parties settled the case at mediation.

  • Wage & Hour Settlement in the amount of $95,000

    An employee of a communications company was terminated when he complained to management that he was not receiving overtime pay for hours he worked in excess of 40 in a work week. The company alleged that the employee was not entitled to overtime because he was exempt under the computer professional exemption to the Fair Labor Standards Act, and that the employee was terminated because he refused to sign a non-competition agreement. Our firm was able to demonstrate that the employee did not meet the duties of an exempt computer professional, which resulted in settlement of the matter.


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EEOC

Shellist | Lazarz | Slobin is not affiliated with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Please click on the link to contact the EEOC.