Fired or punished for speaking up in Austin?
Losing your job, hours or standing after you reported misconduct, took protected leave or exercised a workplace right may be unlawful.
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 wrongful termination can look like, and what the law calls it.
Not every unfair firing is unlawful. What matters is the real reason behind the decision, and whether that reason is one the law prohibits.
My reviews were fine for years. Then I raised a concern, and suddenly I was 'not a fit.'
The law calls it → potentially wrongful termination
- I was let go shortly after reporting a problem at work. The law calls it → possible retaliatory termination
- They didn't fire me outright, they made the job impossible until I quit. The law calls it → possible constructive discharge
- The stated reason for my firing doesn't match what actually happened. The law calls it → possible pretext for an unlawful termination
- My Austin employer fired me a week after I refused to alter compliance numbers. The law calls it → possible retaliation or retaliatory termination
These cover fired for an unlawful reason, fired after reporting misconduct, fired in breach of an agreement, pushed out instead of formally fired, retaliation for asserting workplace rights, in any industry. If something here is familiar, you don't have to be sure before you ask.
Illustrative situations, not client accounts.
Austin workers in tech, hospitality, and state-adjacent private employers face the tightest major deadline in this firm's practice: a Chapter 21 retaliation charge with the Texas Workforce Commission is generally due within 180 days. The EEOC allows 300 days, a right-to-sue notice gives 60 days to sue, and Texas's Sabine Pilot claim covers only a firing whose sole reason was refusing to commit an illegal act.
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.
My employer says I was fired for performance. Does that end the issue?
No. The stated reason is evidence, not the final answer. Timing, earlier reviews, shifting explanations, and how coworkers were treated can all show the real reason was retaliation.
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 →Selected retaliation, discrimination, and harassment results.
$370K
Individual plaintiff · judgment includes fees and costs · Title VII retaliation judgment
Final
$23.5M
Financial-services workforce · 150 women · Sexual harassment settlement
Final · Craig Ackermann served as second chair (prior-firm experience)
$15M+
Apparel industry · individual plaintiff · Gender pay and promotion discrimination
Jury verdict, subject to post-trial proceedings, statutory limits, and appeal. Not a settlement or a collected recovery.
$1.3M
Construction workforce · 19 Black workers · Racial harassment
Final
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different; the value and outcome of your matter will depend on its specific facts.
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 Chapter 21 retaliation complaint with the Texas Workforce Commission.
Texas Labor Code ch. 21 ↗Often, to file a federal retaliation charge with the EEOC when state or local law also covers the claim.
EEOC, How to File a Charge ↗Generally, to file a lawsuit after receiving a Chapter 21 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.
TCHRA retaliation and Sabine Pilot wrongful discharge
Tex. Lab. Code § 21.055; Sabine Pilot Service, Inc. v. Hauck
Primary source, Tex. Lab. Code § 21.055; Sabine Pilot Service, Inc. v. Hauck ↗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 Austin.
- One hundred eighty days passes before many Austin workers finish their internal appeal; the charge must come first.
- Texas recognizes no general public-policy discharge tort; Sabine Pilot is limited to refusal-to-commit-a-crime firings, so route analysis is unforgiving.
- The 60-day post-notice lawsuit window is a trap for anyone who treats the right-to-sue letter as closure rather than a starting gun.
- At-will language in Texas offer letters overstates the employer's power; statutory retaliation claims survive it.
- Startup equity and severance packets in Austin mirror California's, but the claims they buy out expire far sooner here.
Where do you file a wrongful termination claim in Austin?
Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division
Civil Rights Division (mailing)101 E 15th Street
Austin, TX 78778
(888) 452-4778 File online →
EEOC San Antonio Field Office
There is no EEOC office in Austin, Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop, and Caldwell counties are served by the San Antonio Field Office. Most Austinites file online via the EEOC Public Portal.
Legacy Oaks, Building A, 5410 Fredericksburg Road, Suite 200San Antonio, TX 78229
1-800-669-4000 EEOC Public Portal →
Travis County Civil District Courts
Travis County Civil & Family Courts Facility1700 Guadalupe Street
Austin, TX 78701
The narrow Sabine Pilot claim proceeds directly in court. A related Chapter 21 retaliation claim ordinarily requires TWC or EEOC exhaustion.
Federal (Title VII): U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, Austin Division
City of Austin Civil Rights Division (Office of Equity and Inclusion)
Austin has its own civil rights office (created 2020) enforcing the city's anti-discrimination ordinance (City Code Ch. 5-3). Its main value: broader protected classes (Austin codified sexual orientation and gender identity protections before state law) and a local venue. Note: per the city’s complaint form, city complaints follow a 180-day window (300 days for sexual harassment), confirm current rules with the office.
(512) 974-3251The filing path, step by step
- 1Timestamp everything on day one: Texas's 180-day charge window makes the first month decisive, not the first year.
- 2File the Chapter 21 retaliation charge with the Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division within 180 days; TWC intake is available online from Austin.
- 3A federal EEOC charge may be filed within 300 days through the Public Portal; Austin charges are administered from the San Antonio Field Office.
- 4After a right-to-sue notice issues, the lawsuit window is generally 60 days for Chapter 21 claims; suits proceed in Travis County district court or the Western District of Texas in Austin.
- 5If the firing followed your refusal to do something illegal, preserve proof that the refusal was the sole stated or evident reason; that is what a Sabine Pilot claim requires.
Wrongful-termination information in other Texas cities
- DallasWrongful-termination information
- El PasoWrongful-termination information
- Fort WorthWrongful-termination information
- HoustonWrongful-termination information
- San AntonioWrongful-termination information
Asked by Austin workers.
I complained about harassment at an Austin company and was fired within the month. What is my deadline?
Assume 180 days from the termination for the TWC charge, 300 for the EEOC. In Texas, the safe move is filing the charge before negotiating anything.
Does Texas have a wrongful-termination claim like California's?
Not a general one. Texas's Sabine Pilot doctrine covers only terminations solely for refusing to perform an illegal act; most other claims must run through Chapter 21 or federal statutes.
What happens after I get a right-to-sue notice?
Generally you have 60 days to file a Chapter 21 lawsuit. Missing it usually ends the claim regardless of its merits.
Which courts hear Austin cases?
Travis County district courts for state claims; the Western District of Texas, Austin division, for federal claims.