Dallas Employment Lawyer

Usually 180 days to file with the Texas Workforce Commission’s Civil Rights Division, or 300 days to file with the EEOC. Texas applies its 180-day deadline strictly, so missing it generally ends the state claim even if the federal deadline hasn’t passed. Sexual harassment is the exception: since September 2021, Texas allows 300 days for those claims. For anything else, plan around 180 days.

Possibly. Since September 1, 2021, Texas law has extended sexual harassment liability to people who act on the employer’s behalf, which can expose supervisors and managers to personal liability. That’s a significant break from federal law, which generally allows claims only against the employer. The same change extended sexual harassment protection to employees of businesses with as few as one employee, and it requires employers to take immediate and appropriate corrective action once they know about harassment.

Yes. Texas law and federal law both treat discrimination because of pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition as sex discrimination at employers with 15 or more employees. That includes firing, demoting, cutting hours, or refusing to hire someone because she’s pregnant. The federal Pregnant Workers Fairness Act also requires reasonable accommodations for pregnancy-related limitations. A state charge with the Texas Workforce Commission is due within 180 days, so the timeline is short.

Conduct tied to a protected characteristic, such as sex, race, or age, that is severe or frequent enough to change the conditions of your job. A single offhand comment usually isn’t enough. Repeated slurs, unwanted touching, or ongoing sexual comments may be. In sexual harassment cases, Texas law requires employers to take immediate and appropriate corrective action once they know about the conduct. Report it in writing, keep a copy, and keep your own record of what happened and when.

No. Texas is strongly at-will, but the Texas Supreme Court recognizes a claim for employees fired solely because they refused to perform an illegal act that carries criminal penalties. The word “solely” matters: if the employer can show another reason played a part, the claim gets harder. Texas law separately prohibits firing someone for filing a workers’ compensation claim in good faith. For either claim, write down what you were asked to do and when.

Yes, but it’s limited. Dallas City Code Chapter 46 prohibits employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression, and it applies to private employers in the city. Its penalty is a fine of no more than $500, and a 2023 state law limiting local regulation has raised questions about ordinances like it. For most Dallas employees, the stronger protection is Title VII, which covers sexual orientation and gender identity at employers with 15 or more employees.