Texas — Workplace Discrimination

Texas prohibits workplace discrimination through the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act (TCHRA), codified as Texas Labor Code Chapter 21. Under § 21.051, an employer commits an unlawful employment practice if, because of race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, or age, the employer fails or refuses to hire, discharges, or discriminates against an individual in connection with compensation or the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment, or limits, segregates, or classifies employees in a manner that would deprive them of employment opportunities.

TCHRA applies to employers with 15 or more employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year (§ 21.002(8)). This mirrors the federal Title VII threshold. State agencies, municipalities, and counties are covered regardless of size.

The Texas Workforce Commission is the agency tasked by statute with enforcing TCHRA (§ 21.0015). Within TWC, administration of Chapter 21 is handled operationally by the Civil Rights Division—a unit established by the Commission, but not named in the statute itself. Practitioners will encounter the Civil Rights Division in all filings and correspondence, but the statutory reference is strictly to the "Texas Workforce Commission."

TCHRA is modeled after federal civil rights statutes, and Texas courts routinely rely on federal precedent when interpreting Chapter 21.

Source: Tex. Lab. Code Ch. 21

A complaint under TCHRA must be filed with the Texas Workforce Commission within 180 days of the alleged unlawful employment practice. The deadline is extended to 300 days for complaints alleging sexual harassment; this longer period applies to alleged sexual harassment occurring on or after September 1, 2021. The TWC dismisses untimely complaints.

TCHRA requires a complainant to exhaust administrative remedies before filing a discrimination lawsuit. In other words, a charging party must first file a complaint with the Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division (TWC CRD) and allow the agency to resolve or dismiss the complaint before pursuing a civil action in court. The exhaustion requirement appears explicitly in Tex. Lab. Code § 21.208, which states that a complainant may not bring a civil action until the complaint is dismissed or the time for administrative resolution has expired. Missing the TWC administrative deadline generally bars a later court action because exhaustion cannot be achieved.

Source: Tex. Lab. Code § 21.202 Source: Tex. Lab. Code § 21.208

Texas generally applies a 15-employee threshold to coverage under the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act (TCHRA), mirroring federal Title VII coverage (Tex. Lab. Code § 21.002(8)). However, effective September 1, 2021, Texas carved out a different standard for sexual harassment claims. Under Tex. Lab. Code § 21.141, any employer that employs even one employee can be liable for workplace sexual harassment.

Statutory carveout:

• Before September 1, 2021: Sexual harassment claims under TCHRA required the employer to meet the general 15-employee threshold in § 21.002(8).
• On and after September 1, 2021: Under Tex. Lab. Code § 21.141, the term "employer" for sexual harassment provisions (Subchapter F-1 of Chapter 21) means "a person who employs one or more employees" and includes even individuals and managing agents acting directly in employer interest.

This means that the one-employee threshold under § 21.141 applies exclusively to sexual harassment claims under Subchapter F-1. Other forms of discrimination (race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, or age) remain governed by the 15-employee threshold in § 21.002(8).

Key effect: A Texas employer with only one employee (or an individual acting on behalf of the employer) can be liable for sexual harassment under state law as of September 1, 2021, even if they are too small to be covered by the general anti-discrimination provisions of TCHRA.

Source: Tex. Lab. Code § 21.141

The Texas Commission on Human Rights Act (TCHRA), codified in Texas Labor Code Chapter 21, generally applies to employers with 15 or more employees (Tex. Lab. Code § 21.002(8)). However, Chapter 21 contains a distinct provision for governmental entities. Under Tex. Lab. Code § 21.002(8)(D), "employer" expressly includes "a county, municipality, state agency, or state instrumentality, regardless of the number of individuals employed." This means that cities, counties, and state agencies are covered by the TCHRA even if they employ only one worker. There is no minimum-employee threshold for these governmental entities—they are subject to TCHRA’s requirements regardless of workforce size.

Scope of coverage:

• The § 21.002(8)(D) exception applies to all unlawful employment practices defined in § 21.051. This encompasses discrimination based on race, color, disability, religion, sex, national origin, or age—the core set of protected classes under TCHRA—not only sexual harassment or a subset of claims.
• There is a separate, even broader threshold for sexual harassment claims (as detailed in Subchapter F-1 and addressed in the “Sexual harassment — employer threshold under TCHRA (one-employee rule)” section), but the governmental-entity coverage under § 21.002(8)(D) applies across all the classes and claims in § 21.051.

Interpretive note: Chapters 21.003 and 21.051 reinforce that “employer” as defined in § 21.002(8)—including government entities—bears the full anti-discrimination obligations of Chapter 21 without regard to employee count.

Source: Tex. Lab. Code § 21.002(8)(D)