Were you discriminated against at work in El Paso?
Being treated worse because of who you are, in pay, promotion, discipline, scheduling or termination, may be unlawful. Retaliation after you objected or reported it may be unlawful too.
If your workplace rights were violated, you may be able to pursue compensation for lost pay or emotional harm, and hold your employer accountable.
Not sure whether it was "serious enough"? You can request a review even if you never reported it to HR or are still employed.
What discrimination actually looks like, and what the law calls it.
Discrimination is rarely a single dramatic act. It's the pattern, the 'jokes,' the passed-over promotion, the accommodation that never comes, the sudden performance problem after you spoke up. The legal test is whether a protected trait drove how you were treated.
The 'nicknames' are slurs. Everyone laughs, so I'm supposed to laugh too.
The law calls it → racial or national-origin harassment
- Since I started wearing a hijab, I'm suddenly 'not a culture fit' for client meetings. The law calls it → religious discrimination
- They call me 'grandpa' in standups and gave the project I built to someone half my age. The law calls it → age-based harassment and discrimination (40+)
- I asked for a simple schedule change for my disability. Months later, still nothing, and now I'm 'unreliable.' The law calls it → failure to accommodate a disability
- I reported the slurs to HR. Two weeks later my performance was suddenly a problem. The law calls it → retaliation, illegal even if the original complaint isn't proven, as long as it was made in good faith
- Management posts an 'English only, even at lunch' rule, but the only workers written up under it grew up across the bridge in Juárez. The law calls it → national-origin discrimination (language rules)
These cover race and national origin, disability (and accommodations), age (40 and over), religion (and accommodations), sex and pregnancy, sexual orientation and gender identity, in any industry. If something here is familiar, you don't have to be sure before you ask.
Illustrative situations, not client accounts.
In El Paso it's unlawful for an employer of 15 or more to discriminate by national origin, race, age, disability, or religion, Texas Labor Code Chapter 21 and federal law both apply. The Texas Workforce Commission deadline is a short 180 days; the EEOC El Paso Area Office allows 300.
What could taking action help you pursue?
Depending on the facts, legal action may help recover financial losses, address emotional harm, restore employment opportunities, or require workplace changes. Available remedies depend on the facts and applicable law; no outcome is guaranteed.
Recover what you lost
Lost pay, benefits, hours, and employment opportunities tied to the unlawful conduct.
Address the harm
Compensation for emotional distress may be available where the law provides for it.
Restore an opportunity
Some cases may involve reinstatement, promotion, corrected records, or another job-related remedy.
Create accountability
A resolution may include policy changes, training, or other corrective workplace action.
You do not need a perfect record, or even to know whether what happened was illegal, before asking what your options are.
Common concerns we hear from employees
I never reported it to HR.
You may still have legal options. Not reporting immediately does not automatically end your rights, although the specific facts can affect a claim.
I don't have screenshots or witnesses.
You do not need a complete evidence file before contacting us. We can help identify texts, emails, schedules, witnesses, and other evidence that may matter.
I still work there.
You can ask questions while still employed. Retaliating against a worker for opposing unlawful conduct or asserting protected rights may itself be unlawful.
It was a customer or client, not a coworker.
In some circumstances, an employer may be responsible for the conduct of supervisors, coworkers, customers, clients, or other third parties.
Craig J. Ackermann
Shareholder · Admitted in Texas
Craig Ackermann represents Texas employees in harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and wage matters. He is licensed in California, Washington, and Texas.
Read Craig's full bio →Real verdicts and recoveries in harassment and discrimination cases.
$15 million
1 plaintiff · Gender pay & promotion discrimination, jury verdict (punitive damages under federal + Oregon law)
Jury verdict, subject to post-trial proceedings. Not a settlement or a collected recovery.
$1.3 million
19 Black construction workers · Racial harassment (hostile work environment)
$1 million
27 Black construction workers · Racial harassment (hostile work environment)
$725,000
14 individuals · Racial harassment (14 individual arbitrations)
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
What happens after you reach out?
You don't need documents, a lawyer-ready story, or even certainty that what happened was illegal.
- 01
Talk with us
A short initial conversation about what happened and when.
- 02
We assess the record
We identify possible claims, deadlines and evidence that may matter.
- 03
If we take the case
We handle the filing strategy, negotiations and litigation.
Deadlines can depend on where and how you file
Texas and federal claims may follow different filing routes. These are general time limits, not sequential steps.
Generally, to file a discrimination complaint with the Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division.
Texas Labor Code ch. 21 ↗Often, to file an EEOC charge when the claim is also covered by state or local anti-discrimination law.
EEOC, How to File a Charge ↗Generally, to file a lawsuit after receiving a TWC right-to-sue notice.
Texas Labor Code ch. 21 ↗Other claims and exceptions may have different or shorter deadlines. Contact counsel promptly so the applicable dates can be reviewed.
Texas Labor Code Chapter 21, "Employment Discrimination" (commonly known as the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act / TCHRA)
Tex. Lab. Code Ann. ch. 21
Primary source, Tex. Lab. Code Ann. ch. 21 ↗Share what happened in about two minutes. The firm will review your submission and contact you about possible options and next steps. There is no cost or obligation to request a review.
Deadlines and filing issues for workers in El Paso.
- A discrimination charge gets 180 days at the TWC, and day 181 almost always means dismissal, the thin continuing-violation exception aside.
- Two different 300-day clocks trip people up: the EEOC's federal 300 days reaches race, age, and disability claims, while the TWC's separate 300-day window is reserved for sexual harassment. A state discrimination charge still falls due at 180.
- Fort Bliss civilian federal employees answer to a 45-DAY EEO-counselor deadline, not the 180/300-day schedule.
- You cannot skip the agency and walk straight into an El Paso courtroom, exhaustion is required in Texas.
Local filing and enforcement information for El Paso workers.
The sources below are public agency actions and filing information, not this firm's cases. They illustrate how claims have been handled and do not predict the outcome of another matter.
- Retail pharmacy / disability, Fabens (El Paso County) EEOC v. U.S. Drug Mart d/b/a Fabens Pharmacy (W.D. Tex., El Paso Division): lawsuit filed September 2021 (Civil Action No. 3:21-cv-00232) alleging the pharmacy refused a pharmacy technician with asthma his request to wear a facemask early in the COVID-19 outbreak, sent him home twice for wearing one, then taunted him for challenging the no-mask policy until he was forced to resign. official source ↗
These are public government enforcement actions by the EEOC, not this firm's cases. Agency and state filing routes for El Paso follow below.
Where do you file a workplace discrimination claim in El Paso?
EEOC El Paso Area Office
Stanton Towers, 100 N. Stanton Street, Suite 600El Paso, TX 79901
1-800-669-4000 EEOC Public Portal →
El Paso County Civil District Courts
El Paso County Courthouse500 E San Antonio Avenue
El Paso, TX 79901
The filing path, step by step
- 1Keep the paper trail, remarks, dates, who got promoted or kept, every accommodation request you made. Texas deadlines are short and unforgiving.
- 2Bring your charge to the TWC Civil Rights Division on EDISS within 180 days, or to the EEOC El Paso Area Office (100 N. Stanton St) within 300. Filing with one agency reaches the other automatically.
- 3In Texas you must run out the agency process before a lawsuit is possible.
- 4Civilian Department of Defense workers at Fort Bliss follow a separate 45-day track, contact your agency EEO counselor first.
- 5Once you receive a right-to-sue notice, the clock is 60 days, state claims filed in the El Paso County Civil District Courts, and any federal claim in the Western District of Texas, El Paso Division.
Employment discrimination information in other Texas cities
- AustinEmployment-discrimination information
- DallasEmployment-discrimination information
- Fort WorthEmployment-discrimination information
- HoustonEmployment-discrimination information
- San AntonioEmployment-discrimination information
Asked by El Paso workers.
Our El Paso plant enforces an 'English-only' rule on the line, and people imitate my accent, can they do that?
It can be national-origin discrimination. Ridiculing how someone speaks, hurling ethnic slurs, or imposing an across-the-board English-only policy without a genuine business reason runs afoul of Chapter 21 (15+ employees) and Title VII. The Texas Workforce Commission filing runs 180 days. In a border city where nearly everyone is bilingual, these policies surface often, and plenty are unlawful.
What can I do if my El Paso employer refuses to accommodate my disability?
Both Chapter 21 and the ADA make employers of 15-plus provide reasonable accommodations, a shifted schedule, special equipment, time off, or reduced duties. Turning down the request is one violation; punishing you afterward is a second. Get the state charge on file within 180 days, and your attorney can pursue the parallel ADA claim through the EEOC.
At 57 I was cut from an El Paso manufacturer in a 'restructuring' while younger operators kept their lines, is that age bias?
Quite possibly. Workers 40 and older are protected by both the federal ADEA and Chapter 21 (the ADEA kicks in at 20 employees, Chapter 21 at 15). When a cut falls disproportionately on veteran operators, or managers mention wanting 'fresh energy,' that can point to bias. You have 180 days at the TWC, note the ages of everyone kept and everyone released.
I'm a warehouse temp near the El Paso ports of entry, singled out for my race and national origin, who's on the hook?
Potentially both the staffing agency and the warehouse where you work. Chapter 21 covers employers and employment agencies alike, and dual-employer arrangements dominate El Paso's border-logistics workforce. Don't let the two pass the blame back and forth, that's a legal knot, not yours to untie. File within 180 days and name both.