An employee at the fast food chain, Sonic, has filed a gender and racial discrimination lawsuit against employers after co-workers allegedly made racial slurs as well as sexually inappropriate comments.

According to the lawsuit that was filed on March 30, the black female filed the lawsuit stating that co-workers showed her inappropriate pictures and made ‘physical sexual simulations’  toward her.

The woman claimed that she made repeated complaints about the issue and management did not do anything to address the concerns.  The lawsuit then states that the woman filed a complaint with the general manager and said that she would file a lawsuit with the Equal Employment Opportunity Council. She was then fired a short time later.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of retaliation for standing up against discrimination at your workplace, contact the Austin sexual harassment lawyers by calling 512-330-0017.

Austin police held a ‘No Refusal’ initiative this weekend in order to prevent impaired drivers from getting behind the wheel after Mardi Gras celebrations.

According to the Austin-American Statesman, the initiative began on Feb. 17 and will continue through Fat Tuesday on Feb. 21. Additional patrol will run from 9 p.m .to 5 a.m. During a ‘No Refusal’ initiative, a person’s blood can be drawn if they are pulled over and suspected of drunk driving, but they refuse a breathalyzer.

These initiativse are put into place during times of heavy drinking such as holidays and the Super Bowl.  Austin has a very high rate of DWI arrests and last year alone nearly 24 percent of their traffic fatalities involved alcohol.

The Austin employment lawyers of The Melton Law Firm are wishing you and your family and fun and safe Mardi Gras.

The Austin Employment Lawyers of The Melton Law Firm are happy to announce events in the Austin community. Today, the tickets for the Austin Food and Wine Festival are going on sale for the three day event that will take place in April.

This year’s festival will feature 40 events including food testing, cooking demonstrations, local favorite chefs, and more. The festival takes place April 27 to April 29. Events begin at 9 a.m. daily and go on till 4 p.m.

The Austin Food and Wine Festival is presented by Food and Wine Magazine and is a collaborated effort with C3 Productions, local chefs and restaurants.

For the event schedules, please visit the Austin Food and Wine Festival web site today.

Last week, the city of Austin celebrated Free Week where local bands played in venues down Red River Street and no covers were charged to enter.

The free lineups kept venues on Red River packed all of last week. Officials involved in the event have stated that this year was the biggest that the event has been. Many venues that have never participated in Free Week participated this year.

Venues including, Antone’s, Mohawk, Frank, Hotel Vegas and Skinny Ballroom all hosted free shows for Austin residents to enjoy. Bands that took advantage of the exposure include, Austin Crooks and A Giant Dog.

The Austin employment lawyers of The Melton Law Firm enjoy supporting local events in the area and making them known to residents. For further details, visit the Austin 360 website today.

A party boat fire that occurred on Lady Bird Lake in Austin after propane heating tanks exploded on the vessel has now been linked to arson.

According to officials with the Austin Fire Department, witnesses said that people were seen leaving the boat after the fire broke out, but police only know of one person that is involved at this time.

The owner of the boat said that he did not know of anyone who would do this. The fire broke out on the 70-foot paddle-wheel boat around 2 p.m on Christmas day. Two smaller boats on the marina were also damaged, but luckily there were no injuries.

The Austin employment lawyers are interested in keeping members of the community in the know.  For more information on this story and others, visit Statesman online today.

The city of Austin has drafted a proposal that would ban the use of most plastic and paper bags in the city.

According to the bill, by 2013, retailers can begin to charge 25 cents for plastic bags and by 2016, bags will be completely removed from most all retailers.

There are a few exceptions to this ban and those include, carry out food bags, wine and beer bags, bags for meat and fish, pharmaceutical bags and bags for bulk food. The bill states that retailers must offer reusable fabric bags. The draft may be voted on by City Council next month.

The Austin employment lawyers are interested in keeping Austin residents informed on news in the area. For more information, visit the Statesman online today.