How To File An Employment Discrimination Complaint

Equal Employment Opportunity and Fair Housing Jurisdiction:

The Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division (TWCCRD) enforces the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act, (TCHRA); which has been codified into Texas Labor Code, Chapter 21. If you have suffered an employment harm, and you believe it was because of your race, color, religion, national origin, sex (includes sexual harassment and pregnancy), age, disability, or retaliation, TWCCRD may have jurisdiction to investigate your claim.

TWCCRD also enforces the Texas Fair Housing Act (TFHA), which has been codified into Texas Property Code, Chapter 301, and investigates discriminatory housing practices. If you believe you have been discriminated against based on your race, religion, color, sex (includes sexual harassment), national origin, disability or familial status (includes presence of children under the age of 18 and pregnancy) and someone:

• Refused to rent to you or sell you housing;
• Told you housing was unavailable when in fact it was available;
• Showed you apartments or homes only in certain neighborhoods;
• Refused to provide you with information regarding mortgage loans, denied you a mortgage loan, or imposed different terms or conditions on a mortgage loan;
• Denied you property insurance;
• Conducted property appraisals in a discriminatory manner;
• Refused to make certain modifications or accommodations for persons with a mental or physical disability;
• Failed to design and construct housing in an accessible manner; or
• Harassed, coerced, intimidated or interfered with your fair housing rights with you assisting others in exercising their fair housing rights,

TWCCRD may have jurisdiction to investigate your claim.

To file an Employment Discrimination complaint, you may:

• Come to the TWCCRD office located at 1117 Trinity St., Room 144T, Austin, Texas, between the hours of 8:00 am and 5:00 pm. When you arrive at TWCCRD, you will meet with an Investigator who will discuss what is required to file a complaint, how the complaint will be investigated, and will assist you in preparing the complaint.
• Call the TWCCRD office at 1-512-463-2642 or 1-888-452-4778. An Investigator will discuss what is required to file a complaint, how the complaint will be investigated, and will assist you in preparing the complaint.
• Access the TWCCRD Intake Questionnaire Instructions and complete the Intake Questionnaire. Take the completed Intake Questionnaire to a Notary Public, sign and mail the notarized Intake Questionnaire to the TWCCRD. Keep a copy for your records.

To file a Housing Discrimination complaint, you may:

• Come to the TWCCRD office located at 1117 Trinity St., Room 144T, Austin, Texas, between the hours of 8:00 am and 5:00 pm. When you arrive at TWCCRD you will meet with an Investigator who will discuss what is required to file a complaint, how the complaint will be investigated, and will assist you in preparing the complaint.
• Call the TWCCRD office at 1-512-463-2642 or 1-888-452-4778. An Investigator will discuss what is required to file a complaint, how the complaint will be investigated, and will assist you in preparing the complaint.
• Write to TWCCRD at Civil Rights Division, 1117 Trinity St., Room 144-T, Austin, Texas 78701. Include the nature of your complaint and your contact information, including telephone number.

Complaints filed with TWCCRD are dual-filed with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) or the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) so it is not necessary to file with both the state and federal agencies. Although the complaints are dual-filed with both agencies, only one will conduct an investigation. Employment complaints filed with our Division must be filed within 180 days of the alleged discriminatory act and housing complaints must be filed within one year.

Additional Employment Discrimination Complaint Information

If you decide to file a charge of employment discrimination, you will be required to provide specific information about your employment experiences, such as:

• the reason(s) the employer gave you for the employer's action;
• your reason(s) for believing you have experienced unlawful discrimination;
• name(s) of other employees in a same or similar position to you that were treated differently under the similar conditions; and
• date(s) for each alleged employment harm.

During the investigation, you will need to provide names of witnesses (along with home addresses and telephone numbers) who have first hand knowledge concerning the allegations you raise in your claim. In addition, you will need to provide any documentation (memorandums, notes, letters, personnel records, etc.) you have that supports your allegations.

If your complaint is based on disability, you will need your medical practitioner to respond to the following questions and provide the responses to you:

1. Diagnosis and prognosis of Complainant's disability. Merely having an impairment does not make one disabled for purposes of the TCHRA and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The Complainant must demonstrate that the impairment limits a major life activity. Please state the major life activity that is impaired and describe the impairment.
2. Is the disability predictable or unpredictable?
3. Is the disability a permanent or temporary condition?
4. Can the Complainant perform the essential functions of his/her position with or without a workplace accommodation? (If an accommodation is required, what type of workplace accommodation would be necessary?)
5. Is the disability controlled by medication? If so, describe the medication and the effects of the medication.

Submit your practitioner's responses along with the completed Intake Questionnaire.

Using the information you provide, our staff may counsel you about our assessment of the likelihood of establishing a violation. If we believe there has been no violation, we will tell you. This is not to discourage you -- it is intended to help you make an informed decision about whether to file a charge. Ultimately, the decision about whether to file is up to you. You always have the right to file a charge. If you file a charge, we may immediately dismiss it if we believe there are few indications that further action is likely to establish a violation. Alternatively, we may decide to offer mediation (Alternative Dispute Resolution) or contact the employer for more information. If your charge is dismissed at any stage, you may have the right to file your own lawsuit in state or federal court if you want to pursue the matter.

Here are just a few of the most common employment discrimination allegations and a general description of the kind of information we will need:

I was not hired.
Tell us why you believe you were not hired. Do you think it's because of your race, color, religion, national origin, sex (includes sexual harassment and pregnancy), age, disability, or retaliation? Why do you think this? It's not likely that you will have information about the person who was hired instead of you and whether they were better or less qualified than you, so if you file a charge regarding this issue we almost always have to ask the employer for information.

I was disciplined.or I was fired.or I received a poor performance evaluation.
What reason did the company give you for taking the action, and why do you believe the reason is false? How do you think this could be proven? Do you know of other employees who committed the same or very similar offense attributed to you but who were treated differently by the company? What other employees or other witnesses could provide specific information to support what you are telling us about your job performance, conduct, or how other people were treated differently?

I was harassed.
In many situations, but not all, employers may not be liable for workplace harassment if it appears that the employer took steps to prevent the harassment and then corrected any harassment brought to its attention. Tell us when the harassment took place, where, and by whom? Exactly what happened? Were there any witnesses? Does the employer have an anti-harassment policy for employees? Did you complain to management about the harassment, or do you know of anyone who did complain? If you complained, to whom did you complain, when, and what did you say? What was the manager's response? What happened after that? Was there any more harassment? If you did not complain to management, tell us why.

I didn't get the promotion.
When and how did you apply for the promotion? What specific reasons did the employer give you for not selecting you or for deciding that someone else was better qualified? Why do you disagree with the reasons the employer gave? Who was the successful candidate, and what are this person's qualifications? Why do you believe you were better qualified? What other employees would tell us that you were better qualified than the successful candidate?

We've described just a few situations above to give you a very general idea of the kind of information we need. During the investigation, we may find that other information is useful in proving that you experienced employment discrimination based on your race, color, religion, national origin, sex (includes sexual harassment and pregnancy), age, disability, or retaliation.

When contacting the Division in person or by phone, you will need to provide the Division Investigator with sufficient information so the Division can determine whether it has jurisdiction to investigate your complaint. You will need to provide the Investigator with the employer's name, address (to include county), telephone number, and number of employees. You will also need to provide the Investigator with specific information regarding your complaint.

If you have any additional questions about employment or housing discrimination, please contact TWCCRD at (888-452-4778/512-463-2642) or visit our website.