US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the first Jewish woman to serve on the Court, was laid to rest on September 29, 2020, at 87 years old.  One of Justice Ginsburg's opinions during her 27 years on the Supreme Court was the 1996 Virginia Military Institute (VMI) case. The VMI, founded in 1839, and the oldest state-supported military ...

Today, founder of the Houk Law Firm, Chris Houk, had the great honor of presenting with Sixth Circuit Court Appeals Judge Bernice B. Donald at National Employment Lawyers Association's Annual Convention on the topic of Implicit Bias. They spoke about recent implicit bias scholarship and strategies for rooting bias out of the litigation process. NEL...

A myriad of voices around the nation have expressed outrage and mourning for the death of George Floyd. In a resolution, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission stated it "condemns" the "senseless deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and countless others". It recognized its own "overwhelmingly bipartisan" creation as part of t...

On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court ruled in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia that employers can no longer discriminate against employees for being gay or transgender. Until the Court's decision, lower courts differed as to whether Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protected employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation when i...

Here's a short guide to unemployment benefits, with a special section on new benefits because of the COVID-19 pandemic.  To be eligible for unemployment benefits, a worker must be "unemployed," which means the worker has not performed any services for the week they are seeking benefits and has no wages due to them. An employee who receives sev...

The work of doing justice, preserving the rule of law, enforcing rights and demanding responsibility is critical at any time; that's especially true during crises. Here at the Houk Law Firm, we are committed to continuing to fight for you, no matter what is going on in the world. During this particular era, we will be nimble and creative in ou...

The Houk Law Firm is committed to providing up-to-date information about new laws affecting employers and employees in light of the Covid-19 situation. That's why we created this short guide to Covid-19 paid leave. Beginning April 1, 2020, employees are entitled to Covid-19-related paid leave. In general, employees are entitled to pa...

Looking for a nonprofit or for-profit board to join? Consider becoming a member of the Black Board of Directors Project founded in 1983 by Marvin Perry. It's open to everyone and is dedicated to advancing the leadership skills in the community. I've been a member for several years, and it has been a great experience. It has enabled me to find leade...

The answer is Yes. Phrases such as "Go back to where you came from" can form the basis of a hostile work environment claim, according to the EEOC, the Federal agency that enforces civil rights laws. In addition, the Ninth Circuit ruled in July 2019, in an unpublished opinion, that four racial slurs—including three uses of the "N" word—can constitut...

Established in 1989, Valley Youth Theatre is a professional quality, non-profit theater dedicated to developing qualities in young people that are critical to a successful life: hard work, confidence, team building, and resilience. The Houk Law Firm supports the mission of the Valley Youth Theatre, an important community institution. Bobb Cooper, t...

Christopher R. Houk of the Houk Law Firm PLLC was involved in the Ninth Circuit case of Johnny Mack vs Town of Pinetop. In that case, Johnny Mack was the subject of racial slurs and had a heart attack after a coworker placed a snake in his work vehicle. The Court said four racial slurs could constitute a hostile work environment and placing a snake...