Texas Employment Discrimination Law: The Chapter 21 Guide
Texas Labor Code Chapter 21 prohibits workplace discrimination because of race, national origin, color, religion, sex, age (40+), and disability at employers with 15 or more employees. The filing window is short — 180 days with the Texas Workforce Commission — and untimely complaints must be dismissed. Damages are capped by employer size ($50,000–$300,000).
Reviewed by Craig J. Ackermann, admitted in Texas · Bar No. 24001620
Texas at a glance
- Statute
- Texas Labor Code Chapter 21, "Employment Discrimination" (commonly known as the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act / TCHRA) — Tex. Lab. Code Ann. ch. 21
- Harassment covered at
- SEXUAL HARASSMENT: 1+ employee (Sec. 21.141(1), added by SB 45, eff. Sept. 1, 2021). Clause (B) ('acts directly in the interests of an employer') has been read to expose individuals — managers, owners, HR — to potential liability.
- Discrimination covered at
- 15+ employees for general harassment/discrimination claims (Sec. 21.002(8)(A)); counties, municipalities, and state agencies covered regardless of size (Sec. 21.002(8)(D))
- State agency deadline
- 180 days for general discrimination/harassment (Sec. 21.202(a)); 300 days for SEXUAL HARASSMENT (Sec. 21.202(a-1), added by HB 21, eff. Sept. 1, 2021). Untimely complaints SHALL be dismissed (Sec. 21.202(b)).
- Federal EEOC deadline
- 300 days for Title VII claims (Texas is a deferral state — TWC Civil Rights Division is the state FEPA)
- Civil suit
- No direct suit — administrative exhaustion required. 60 days to sue after right-to-sue notice (Sec. 21.254); no civil action later than 2 years after the complaint was filed (Sec. 21.256).
- After right-to-sue
- 60 days from right-to-sue notice (Sec. 21.254); TWC must notify complainant if unresolved at 180 days (Sec. 21.208)
- Damages
- $50,000 (fewer than 101 employees); $100,000 (101-200); $200,000 (201-500); $300,000 (more than 500) — per complainant, combined compensatory + punitive (Sec. 21.2585)
- State agency
- Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division (TWC CRD)
Verified against primary sources 2026-06-10. Statute: Tex. Lab. Code Ann. ch. 21
What you can recover under Texas Labor Code Chapter 21, "Employment Discrimination"
- Combined compensatory + punitive damages capped by employer size (Sec. 21.2585)
- Back pay, interest on back pay, and equitable relief NOT subject to caps
- Punitive damages unavailable against governmental entities (Sec. 21.2585(b)); require malice or reckless indifference
Special provisions worth knowing
- SEXUAL HARASSMENT (Subchapter C-1, Secs. 21.141-21.142, SB 45 2021): 1+ employee threshold — covers the smallest employers
- Employer duty: 'immediate and appropriate corrective action' once employer/agents/supervisors know or should have known (Sec. 21.142) — stricter than the federal 'prompt remedial action' standard
- Potential individual liability for those who 'act directly in the interests of an employer' (Sec. 21.141(1)(B))
Discrimination by protected ground in Texas
Coverage thresholds and deadlines differ by ground. Each one below is a separate claim — and an employer can violate more than one at once.
Race & national origin
15+ · 180 days · TWC
Race and national-origin discrimination violate Texas Labor Code Chapter 21 at employers with 15 or more employees. Unlike sexual harassment's one-employee rule, you have only 180 days to file with the Texas Workforce Commission — among the shortest windows in the country. Slurs and English-only rules can be unlawful; act early.
Disability
15+ · 180 days · TWC
Texas Labor Code Chapter 21 and the federal ADA require employers with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodations and prohibit disability harassment. The state charge goes to the Texas Workforce Commission within 180 days; the federal claim runs through the EEOC at 300 days. A lawyer can file both.
Age (40+)
15+ · 180 days · TWC
The federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act and Texas Labor Code Chapter 21 protect workers 40 and older. The state claim needs an employer with 15 or more employees and a Texas Workforce Commission filing within 180 days. Being replaced by someone much younger, or 'too old' comments, can be evidence.
Religion
15+ · 180 days · TWC
Title VII and Texas Labor Code Chapter 21 require employers to reasonably accommodate sincerely held religious practices — dress, grooming, and time for worship — unless it's a genuine hardship. Religious harassment is also illegal. State charges go to the Texas Workforce Commission within 180 days; the federal claim runs through the EEOC.
Sexual orientation & gender identity
15+ (federal) · 300 days · EEOC
After the Supreme Court's 2020 Bostock decision, firing or harassing someone for being gay, lesbian, or transgender is sex discrimination under federal Title VII, enforced by the EEOC across Texas (300-day deadline). Whether a parallel Chapter 21 claim applies is still developing, so a lawyer usually anchors the case federally.
Retaliation
15+ · 180 days · TWC
Texas Labor Code §21.055 makes it unlawful to retaliate against anyone who opposes discrimination, files a charge, or participates in an investigation — and retaliation is independently illegal even if the underlying claim isn't proven, as long as the report was in good faith. The Texas Workforce Commission deadline is 180 days.
Where to file in Texas
TWC CRD
Civil Rights Division (mailing)
101 E 15th StreetAustin, TX 78778
(888) 452-4778
Employment Discrimination guides by city in Texas
Was it also sexual harassment?
The same treatment can be both. If what happened to you in Texas was tied to your race, age, disability, sex, pregnancy, religion, or national origin, a second set of protections may apply, with its own deadlines.
Common questions
Why is the Texas discrimination deadline only 180 days?
Texas Labor Code Chapter 21 sets a 180-day window for general discrimination claims with the Texas Workforce Commission, and the statute says untimely complaints SHALL be dismissed. (Sexual harassment is the exception — a 2021 law gives it 300 days.) Filing federally with the EEOC can give 300 days, so act early.
Does Texas discrimination law cover small employers?
Generally no — Chapter 21 discrimination claims require 15 or more employees, and so does federal law. The one exception is sexual harassment, which Texas covers at employers with a single employee since 2021. For other grounds at a small employer, a lawyer can check whether any route applies.