Texas State Labor Laws

The Bankruptcy Code is clear: no Texas employer may fire an employee because of filing Chapter 7 or Chapter 13. In addition, Texas state labor laws operate on the basis of "employment at will." In general, this state law doctrine allows employers to terminate any employee unless strictly prohibited by statute. Employees of larger companies are also protected by Federal Labor Laws which account for the bulk of successful wrongful termination cases.

Texas State Labor Laws - In Practice

The prohibition against discrimination against debtors who file is grossly ineffective. For debtors to prove a violation, they proves, more likely than not, that filing bankruptcy was the sole cause of job termination. In practice, most employers are well advised by legal counsel on an iron clad method of documenting complaints against an employee that will allow termination despite a prior filing.

The Secretary of State for the State of Texas provides corporate information via telephone. This information includes the name, address and contact information for the corporate representative, as well as the date of original incorporation and whether the entity remains active. All bankruptcy cases require a list of creditors, and if the address included within the list of creditors is incorrect, and notice of filing is not delivered, subsequent actions taken by the Bankruptcy Court are ineffective against that creditor. Failure to provide notice is one of the damaging and easily preventable errors made by debtors.