Over the past several decades, the United States has made great strides to eliminate discrimination in the workplace. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 made it illegal for an employer to "fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions or privileges or employment, because of such individual's race, color, religion, sex, or national origin." The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) extends this protection to those who are 40 years old and older while the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) extends protections to the disabled.

With these laws, many states enacted their own statutes to encompass federal law. Texas enacted Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code (herein, "Chapter 21") to protect employees from discrimination and retaliation for reporting discrimination. In doing so Chapter 21 largely incorporates the protections as of its federal counterpart so much that federal case law can be used to determine Chapter 21 cases.

In 1973, the United States Supreme Court laid out the current foundation and framework used to determine whether discrimination exists in McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green. Since then, both federal and Texas Courts have largely adopted this case in analyzing and structuring today's framework for discrimination cases.

To learn more about how this firm can help you in your case, call (832) 594-9771 or fill out our case information sheet.