Practice Areas: Employment & Labor, Employment Litigation, Business & Corporate; view more
Licensed in Texas since: 1988
Education: Creighton University School of Law
Details
Dean J. Schaner is an employment litigation attorney handling defense employment and labor employee benefits for clients in Houston and Bellaire, Texas. Founder of Schaner Law Firm PLLC, Mr. Schaner has over three decades of experience handling matters such as contract/tort claims, wage and hour, harassment, whistleblower, wrongful termination, ERISA, retaliation, discrimination, and unfair competition. During his career, he has worked with people in the technology, manufacturing, energy and banking industries.
In 1988, Mr. Schaner was admitted to practice in Texas, and in 1995, he became Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. A member of Houston West Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors and former chair of the Texas Labor and Employment Exam Committee, Mr. Schaner was an exam coordinator for the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.
With a Juris Doctor from Creighton University School of Law, Mr. Schaner is also the Texas Employment Law Desk Reference’s editor-in-chief. Clients come to him for advice on using social media and the implications and risks it can have for employment and labor. For his high ethical standards and long list of successful results, Mr. Schaner holds the highest peer rating possible of AV Preeminent* from Martindale-Hubbell.
Mr. Schaner has been successful in representing employers in both state and federal courts. He has also handled pro bono cases for employers with employees who are HIV-positive and those with immigration matters. Throughout his career, he has become extremely conversant about the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act.
* AV®, AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished and Martindale-Hubbell Notable are certification marks used under license in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Rating™ fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.
Practice areas
Employment & Labor: Employee, Employment Litigation: Defense, Business/Corporate, Employee BenefitsFocus areas
Contracts, Employment Discrimination, Employment Law - Employee, Retaliation, Sexual Harassment, Wage & Hour Laws, Whistleblower, Wrongful Termination
- 10% Employment & Labor: Employee
- 70% Employment Litigation: Defense
- 10% Business/Corporate
- 10% Employee Benefits
First Admitted: 1988, Texas
Professional Webpage: https://www.schanerlawfirm.com/our-firm/
- Member, Exam Committee, Texas Board of Legal Specialization Labor and Employment Law Exam Commission, 2005 -2017
- Chair, Texas Labor and Employment Exam Committee, 2013 - 2017
- Costello v. Bank of America, N.A., 2007 WL 4303499, Tex. App.-Houston [14th Dist.], 2007
- Young v. Merrill Lynch & Co., 658 F.3d. 436, 5th Cir., 2011
- Mensa-Wilmot v. Smith International, Inc., 312 SW.3d 771, 2009 Tex. App. LEXIS 8944, Tex. App. – [1st Dist.] Nov. 19, 2009
- St. John v. NCI Bldg. Systems, Inc., 537 F. Supp. 2d 848, S.D. Tex., 2008
- Bourgeois v. The Pension Plan for the Employees of Santa Fe Int’/ Corps., 308 F. Supp. 2d 761, S.D. Tex., 2004
- Bodine v. Employers Casualty Co., et al., 352 F.3d 245, 5th Cir., 2003
- Krug v. Caltex Petroleum Corporation, No. 05-96-0079-CV, 1999 WL 652495, Tex. App.-Dallas, 1999
- Burgos v. Tex. Trude, et al., 286 F. Supp. 2d 812, S.D. Tex., 2003
- Tiemeyer v. Quality Publishing, Inc., 144 F. Supp. 2d 727, S.D. Tex., 2001
- Patitu v. NationsBank, N.A., 90 F. Supp.2d 781, S.D. Tex., 2000
- Simien v. Chemical Waste Management, Inc., 30 F. Supp. 2d 939, W.D.La. 1998, aff’d, 174 F.3d 199, 5th Cir. 1999
- Green v. Industrial Specialty Contractors, 1 S.W.3d 126, Tex. App. Houston [1st Dist.] Mar. 25, 1999
- Amos v. Wheelabrator Coal Services Co., 47 F. Supp. 2d 798, N.D. Tex., 1999
- Blanks and Breedlove v. Waste Management of Arkansas, Inc., 31 F. Supp. 2d 673, W.D. Ark., 1998
- Ellis v. NCNB Texas National Bank, 842 F. Supp. 243, N.D. Tex., 1994
- Geiger v. Varo, Inc., No. 05-93-1511-CV, 1994 WL 246159, Tex. App. Dallas, 1994
- Nowlin v. Resolution Trust Corp., et al., 33 F.3d 498, 5th Cir., 1994
- Costello v. Bank of America, N.A., 2007 WL 4303499, Tex. App. Houston [14th Dist.], 2007
- Khavari v. Varo, Inc., No. 05-92-01733-CV, 1993 WL 84788, Tex. App. Dallas, 1993
- Simmons v. Wilcox, 911 F.2d 1077, 5th Cir., 1990
- Young v. Merrill Lynch & Co., 658 F.3d 436, 5th Cir., 2011
- Jordan v. Johnson Controls, Inc., 881 S.W.2d 363, Tex. App. Dallas, 1994
- Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization., 1995
- Member, Board of Directors, Houston West Chamber of Commerce
- ALM and Martindale Hubbell® recognition of Top Rated Lawyer in Labor & Employment Law, 2013 - 2017
- Martindale Hubbell® Law Directory with a Peer Review Rating of AV® Preeminent™
- Named as a Texas Super Lawyer in Texas Monthly Magazine in Employment Litigation Defense from 2003 - 2017
- Included in The Best Lawyers in America® 2012-2017 for Employment Law – Management
- See my biography at www.haynesboone.com under attorneys.
- Recognized by Chambers USA 2014-17 in Labor & Employment (Texas)
- “When Faith and Work Collide: Defining Standards for Religious Harassment in the Workplace,” 21 Employee Relations Law Journal (Summer 1995)
- Exam Coordinator, Texas Board of Legal Specialization, Labor and Employment Specialization Exam Committee, 2008 - 2017
- “Have Gun Will Carry: Concealed Handgun Laws, Workplace Violence and Employer Liability,” 22 Employee Relations Law Journal (Summer 1996)
- “Recent OSHA Developments of Interest to Energy Law Practitioners,” Dean J. Schaner and Matthew Deffebach, Oil, Gas, and Energy Resources Law Journal for the State Bar of Texas (Vol. 27, No. 1 (September 2002)
- “Workplace Romance: Should Employers Act as Chaperones?” 20 Employee Relations Law Journal 47 (Summer 1994)
- “Closing Your Doors on a Sixty-Day Hinge: Complying with the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act,” Texas Bar Journal, June 1992
- “Employment Law Commentary for the Houston Business Journal’s Business Survival Guide” (2001-2005)
- FLSA Travel Issues: “I Would Walk 500 Miles But Would I Get Paid for it?” law 360 (July 19, 2011)
- “Court Developments and Circuit Court Survey,” Alternative Dispute Resolution in Employment Journal (CCH July 2000)
- “How to Protect your Company’s Trade Secrets with Employee Confidentiality and Non-Competition Agreements,” Houston Business Journal (May 18, 2001)
- “U.S. Supreme Court Takes Action on Mandatory Arbitration Issues,” Houston Business Journal, June 29-July 5, 2001
- “Courts ‘Mixed Motive’ Decision Affects Job Discrimination Cases,” Houston Business Journal (August 29-September 4, 2003)
- “Employment Law Post-Enron: Sarbanes-Oxley,” Texas Bar Journal, (January 2002)
- “Tips for Managers and Owners to Control and Regulate Access to Property,” Schaner, Wilson, and Carter, Houston Chapter of the Institute of Real Estate Management (March 2005) (Vol. 27 No. 3)
- “Employers Must Ponder Dangers of ‘Second-Hand’ Harassment,” Houston Business Journal (October 2005)
- “Don’t Give it all Away: Employee Confidentiality and Non-Competition Agreements,” Growth Magazine (November 2005)
- “When Faith and Work Collide: Addressing Religious Harassment in the Workplace,” Growth Magazine (September 2006)
- “Court Rulings Say the Workplace is not the Place for Proselytizing,” Houston Business Journal ( October 2006)
- “Moving Forward: The Enforceability of Non-Compete Agreements Following the Texas Supreme Court’s Decision in Alex Sheshunoff,” Growth Magazine (May 2007)
- “The Supreme Court Rejects Special Treatment for Title VII Pay Discrimination Claims,” Growth Magazine (May 2007)
- “Electronic Communications Policies Post Quon,” Law 360 (July 21, 2010)
- “FLSA: Death Star Workers Were Independent Contractors,” Employee Benefit Plan Review (May 2011)
- “The EEOC Issues Final Regulations Implementing the ADAAA,” Associated Security Services and Investigators Magazine (June 2011)
- “Beware of the Claw: Implementing Mandatory Clawback Provisions in Executive Employment Agreements After Dodd-Frank,” Wolters Kluwer [Corporation Section 2, Vol. LXXXII, No. 14] (July 15, 2011)
- “Common Pitfalls in Preserving the Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product Protection Facing Labor, Employment, and Employee Benefits Attorneys,” New York University Review of Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation – 2013 (October 2013)
- Editor-in-Chief, Texas Employment Law Desk Reference (5th Ed., 2011)
- Focus on the Workplace: “Noncompete Agreements in the Employment Context,” Employee Benefit Plan Review, Vol. 66, No. 5 (November 2011)
- Relying on Employer-Favorable Case Law Outcomes to Help Defend Against Employment Class and Collective Actions,” chapter in Inside the Minds publication, Strategies for Employment Class and Collective Actions: Leading Lawyers on Addressing Trends in Wage and Hour Allegations and Defending Employers in Class Action Litigation, Aspatore Books, (2012)
- “Everyday Attorney-Client Privilege and Work Product Ethics for Labor, Employment, and Employee Benefits Attorneys,” BNA Pension & Benefits Daily (June 28, 2013)
- Employment Law Survey 2011-2012, 45 Tex. Tech L. Rev. 727 (Spring 2013)
- Banking
- Energy
- Manufacturing
- Technology
Selections
- Super Lawyers: 2003 - 2024