Juan Hernandez

Associate

Houston
T: 713.286.7177
F: 713.650.9701

Jackson
T: 601.351.2400
F: 601.351.2424

Juan Hernandez is a labor and employment litigation attorney with experience in Title VII, ADEA, ADA and Title III matters.

Featured Video

Is Your Business Adequately Providing Accommodations in the Wake of the Pandemic? October 29, 2020

Featured Experience

Won summary judgment for a restaurant on claims by patrons alleging discrimination in a place of public accommodation in violation of Title II of the Civil Rights Act and race discrimination in violation of Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act.

Won summary judgment for an apartment complex on claims by former employee alleging race discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and violation of Section 510 under Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

Negotiated favorable resolution on behalf of several casinos by patrons alleging disability discrimination in a place of public accommodation in violation of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Professional Biography

Juan advises small business owners and larger employers on day to day employment matters and defends them before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Mississippi Workers' Compensation Commission, and in state and federal courts when necessary. He also advises businesses/places of public accommodations on the requirements of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

He has defended clients in employment matters including Title VII discrimination and retaliation claims, workers' compensation retaliation claims, discrimination under the Texas Labor Code, and in unemployment and wage hearings before the Texas Workforce Commission. Juan has also represented employers in housing discrimination claims brought by HUD and the Texas Workforce Commission – Civil Rights Division.

Juan served as a judicial extern to the Honorable Chief Judge Neil P. Olack in Jackson, Mississippi.

Won summary judgment for a restaurant on claims by patrons alleging discrimination in a place of public accommodation in violation of Title II of the Civil Rights Act and race discrimination in violation of Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act.
Won summary judgment for an apartment complex on claims by former employee alleging race discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and violation of Section 510 under Employee Retirement Income Security Act.
Negotiated favorable resolution on behalf of several casinos by patrons alleging disability discrimination in a place of public accommodation in violation of Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Negotiated favorable resolution for an automotive company of claims by applicants of disability discrimination in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Negotiated favorable resolution on behalf of insurance company of claims by former employee alleging race discrimination in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, race discrimination in violation of Section 1981, negligence, and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.
Obtained dismissal for a non-profit emergency medical provider on a claim by former employee alleging wrongful termination in violation under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967.
Negotiated favorable resolution for an employer of claims by former employee alleging wrongful termination in violation of Mississippi employment at-will doctrine, the Surface Transportation Assistance Act, and the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985.
Negotiated favorable resolution for an employer and employee of a motor vehicle accident claim by a driver alleging negligence against the employee.
Negotiated favorable resolution for an employer of a claim by former employee alleging violation under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967.
Negotiated favorable resolution for an employer on claims against a former employee for violation of a non-compete and non-confidentiality agreement.
Negotiated favorable resolution on behalf of a bookstore by a patron alleging disability discrimination in a place of public accommodation in violation of Title III of the ADA.
Negotiated favorable resolution on behalf of a restaurant by a patron alleging disability discrimination in a place of public accommodation in violation of Title III of the ADA.
Won summary judgment for a financial institution on claims by a former employee alleging age discrimination in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act and state law claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress and tortious interference.

Named a Best Lawyers in America^® "Ones to Watch" in Labor and Employment Law - Management and Labor and Employment Litigation (2021, 2022)
Recipient – 2018 Rising Legal Star, San Antonio Scene Magazine Award, Organization
Member – National LGBT Bar Association (2018 – present)
Member – Jackson Young Lawyers Association (2018 – present)
Member – American Bar Association (2017 – present)
Former Member – San Antonio LGBT Bar Association – Secretary (2016 – 2018)
Former Member – San Antonio Human Resource Management Association (2015 – 2018)
Former Member – San Antonio Bar Association (2017 – 2018)
Former Member – San Antonio Young Lawyers Association (2017 – 2018)
Coach – Mississippi College School of Law's moot court competition team for the ABA Arbitration Competition, Fifth Circuit Elliott Cup Bankruptcy Competition, and National Duberstein Bankruptcy Competition

"Texas Joins Montana in Banning Private Employer COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates," republished in Texas Lawyer (October 2021)
"Call Me By My Preferred Name and Pronoun – Ways to Create a More Inclusive Environment for Transgender Individuals," Diversity Matters Newsletter, republished in Westlaw Today (Third Quarter 2021)
"Texas Increases Protections for Employees Filing Sexual Harassment Claims," republished in Texas Lawyer (August 2021)
"Mississippi Amends Rules of Professional Conduct to Require In-House Counsel Registration for Those Not Licensed in Mississippi" (July 2021)
"Texas Prohibits Businesses and Employers from Requiring Customers to Show Vaccine Passports" (June 14, 2021)
"First Texas Court of Appeals to Follow Bostock Ruling" (March 2021)
"Managing Stress During a Pandemic: Ways to Improve Your Employees' Mental Health," Diversity Matters Newsletter (First Quarter 2021)
"Is Your Business Adequately Providing Accommodations in the Wake of the Pandemic?," Diversity Matters (Third Quarter 2020)
"Baker's Dozen: How Do You Take a Breath?," Women's Initiative Newsletter (September 2020)
"Religious Organizations May Have a Defense to LGBTQ Employment Discrimination Lawsuits Despite Bostock Ruling" (July 2020)
"We're All in This Together: Now Is the Time to Develop or Revamp LGBTQ-Inclusive Programs and Practices," Diversity Matters (Second Quarter 2020)
"Historic Supreme Court Decision: "An Employer Who Fires an Individual Merely for Being Gay or Transgender Defies the Law"" (June 2020)
"Tips for Ensuring Your Workplace is Title III Compliant," Diversity Matters (January 2020)
"LGBTQ Employees Remain Closeted at Work While Legal Protection Remains Unclear" (August 2018)
"Fifth Circuit Joins Growing List of Circuit Courts, Holds Employees Can Recover for Emotional Distress in FLSA Retaliation Claims," The National Law Review (December 2016)

"The Life Cycle of an Employee – Is Your Agency Compliant," Mississippi Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials (May 2021)
"Emotional Support Animals: Do You Really Need One?," Mississippi Counseling Association 69th Annual Conference (November 2019)
"ADA - Is Your Business Compliant," Mississippi Society for Human Resource Management 2019 Annual Conference (September 2019)
"Life Cycle of an Employee – The ADA: Is Your Business Compliant?" (August 2019)
Co-presenter – "A Shift in Cultural Climate: What Educators Need to Know," Jackson State University - Faculty and Staff Fall 2019 Seminar (August 2019)
"Emotional Support Animals: Do You Really Need One?," Mississippi Minority Mental Health Symposium (July 2019)
Co-presenter – "Cultural Climate for LGBTQ Students: What Educators Need to Know," Mississippi Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel Spring 2019 Conference (April 2019)
"Legal Climate for LGBTQ Employees - What Employers Need to Know about Current Legal Standards and Trends," HRC Business Summit (November 2018)
"What's Up with All These Comfort Animals?" (October 2018)

Is Your Business Adequately Providing Accommodations in the Wake of the Pandemic? (October 2020)

Baker Donelson Attorneys Earn Recognition in The Best Lawyers in America® 2022 Listing (August 19, 2021)
Baker Donelson Top-Listed in the Nation in Six Practice Areas in The Best Lawyers in America^® 2021 Listing (August 20, 2020)

Juan Hernandez Quoted in HR Dive on Appellate Court's Ruling That Texas Anti-Discrimination Law Protects LGBT Employees (March 30, 2021)

Is Your Business Adequately Providing Accommodations in the Wake of the Pandemic? (October 29, 2020)

Practices

Education

Mississippi College School of Law, J.D., 2014, magna cum laude
- Mississippi College Law Review, Associate Editor
- National Order of Barristers
Texas State University, M.A., 2011
Texas State University, B.A., 2009

Admissions

Mississippi, 2014
Texas, 2015
U.S. District Court, Northern and Southern Districts of Mississippi
U.S. District Court, Southern and Western Districts of Texas
U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern and Western Districts of Texas
U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit

Featured Media

Texas Joins Montana in Banning Private Employer COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates

Publication / October 13, 2021

Call Me By My Preferred Name and Pronoun – Ways to Create a More Inclusive Environment for Transgender Individuals

Publication / October 6, 2021

Baker Donelson Attorneys Earn Recognition in The Best Lawyers in America® 2022 Listing

Press Release / August 19, 2021

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