Texas Office of Civil Rights: Deadlines, Filing, and Retaliation

To file a discrimination complaint in Texas, submit it to the Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division (TWC CRD) within 180 days of the discriminatory act, or within 300 days if the claim involves sexual harassment. Filing is free, can be done online, and preserves your rights under both state and federal law because the agency has a workshare arrangement with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).¹

Where Discrimination Complaints Go in Texas

The TWC CRD is the state agency that investigates employment and housing discrimination.¹ Employment claims sit under Texas Labor Code Chapter 21. Housing claims sit under the Texas Fair Housing Act, Texas Property Code Chapter 301.² Both statutes prohibit discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, and disability.

Because of the workshare relationship, a charge filed with the TWC CRD is generally cross-filed with the EEOC (for employment) or HUD (for housing). You don’t file twice, and you don’t have to choose between state and federal protection at the intake stage.

One boundary to know before you file: Texas does not have a general public accommodations anti-discrimination law protecting non-disabled individuals. If your complaint is that a restaurant, store, or other business turned you away or treated you differently because of race, religion, or sex, that claim has to go through federal law, not state law. The Americans with Disabilities Act still covers disability-based public accommodation claims.³

Does the Law Cover Your Employer?

Chapter 21 generally applies to employers with 15 or more employees in each of at least 20 calendar weeks in the current or preceding year.⁴

Sexual harassment is the exception. Since September 2021, Texas defines an employer for sexual harassment purposes as anyone who employs one or more employees.⁴ Virtually every employer in the state is covered, regardless of size.

The Deadlines That Kill Claims

Deadlines are where discrimination claims fail most often. If you miss yours, the agency has to dismiss the complaint no matter how strong your evidence.

Most employment complaints under Texas law: 180 days from the discriminatory act.⁵
Sexual harassment complaints: 300 days from the alleged harassment.⁵
Federal EEOC employment complaints in Texas: 300 days, because the state has a workshare agreement.⁶
Federal HUD housing complaints: one year from the alleged discrimination.⁷

The state 180-day clock and the federal 300-day clock run at the same time. Filing with the TWC CRD within 180 days covers you under both. If you file between day 181 and day 300, the state claim is gone, but the federal claim can still proceed through the EEOC.

What to Gather Before You File

A stronger initial submission moves faster and gives the investigator something to work with. Before you sit down to file, put together:

The full legal name and address of the employer or housing provider.
Specific dates for each incident. If there were several, list each one.
Names of supervisors, managers, or witnesses who saw or know about what happened.
A clear description of the harm — a firing, demotion, denial of housing, harassment — and the reason you believe it was tied to a protected characteristic.
Supporting documents: termination letters, performance reviews, emails, texts, lease denials, or any other records.

You don’t need a lawyer to draft the complaint, but you do need to connect what happened to a protected characteristic. “I was fired” is not enough. “I was fired two weeks after my employer learned about my disability, and a coworker without a disability was not disciplined for the same performance issues” gives the agency something to investigate.

How Filing Actually Works

The TWC CRD accepts employment discrimination complaints through its Employment Discrimination Inquiry Submission System (EDISS), available online. You can also file by mail or in person. There is no fee.⁸

After you submit, staff review the inquiry to decide whether the complaint is within the agency’s jurisdiction, was filed on time, and states a plausible discrimination claim. If it clears that review, the agency drafts a formal Charge of Discrimination based on your information. The charge is sent to you to review and sign. Your signature is what formally starts the administrative process.

Once the signed charge is on file, the respondent is notified, and both sides are typically invited to voluntary mediation. Mediation can resolve a case in weeks, and both parties keep more control over the outcome. Accepting the invitation does not weaken your claim if it doesn’t settle.

What Happens After You File

If mediation is declined or fails, the complaint moves to a full investigation. The investigator gathers evidence from both sides, including a written position statement from the respondent that answers the specific allegations in the charge.⁹ Witnesses may be interviewed and documents requested. In dual-filed cases at the EEOC, you generally get a chance to respond to the position statement. Take that seriously.

After reviewing the evidence, the investigator decides whether there is reasonable cause to believe discrimination occurred. If reasonable cause is found, the agency attempts conciliation, a structured negotiation aimed at settling the case without court.

If the agency finds no reasonable cause, or if conciliation fails, it issues a Notice of Right to File a Civil Action. This is not the end of the case. It is what lets you take the claim to state court. You have 60 days from receiving that notice to file suit. Miss that window and the state claim is over.

You don’t have to wait for the investigation to finish. If the process is dragging, you can request a right-to-sue notice and move the case to court on your own timeline.

Retaliation After You File

Filing is a protected activity, and retaliation is the most frequently filed charge with the EEOC. Employers who would not have discriminated outright sometimes retaliate against the person who complained.

Retaliation reaches well beyond firing. It includes demotion, transfer to a less desirable position, artificially low performance evaluations, increased scrutiny, or schedule changes that conflict with known obligations.¹⁰ Threats to report you to authorities, false rumors, and retaliation against a family member can also qualify.

Protection applies whether or not the underlying discrimination claim succeeds, as long as you had a reasonable, good-faith belief that what you opposed was discriminatory. Serving as a witness in someone else’s discrimination proceeding is also covered. These protections are tied to discrimination activity specifically; unrelated ethical or financial concerns fall under separate whistleblower laws.

When Filing Federally Makes More Sense

The TWC CRD handles most state-level intake, but there are situations where filing federally is either required or advantageous.

EEOC for Employment

You can file directly with the EEOC through its Public Portal, which walks you through an online inquiry, a staff interview, charge preparation, and electronic signature. If you have 60 days or fewer left on your deadline, the portal offers accelerated instructions.¹¹ The EEOC has offices in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, and El Paso. Because of the workshare agreement, a charge with the EEOC is generally shared with the TWC CRD.

HUD for Housing

HUD’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity investigates housing discrimination under the federal Fair Housing Act.¹² You have up to one year from the alleged discrimination to file with HUD, well beyond the state deadline.⁷ HUD may investigate directly or refer the case to the TWC CRD as a Fair Housing Assistance Program partner. If HUD finds reasonable cause and conciliation fails, the case can go to an administrative hearing or be referred to the Department of Justice.

Other Federal Offices

Discrimination in federally funded health and social service programs goes to the Office for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Discrimination in schools and universities that receive federal funding goes to the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Both have their own intake processes and deadlines, separate from the employment and housing complaints handled by the TWC CRD.

1
Texas Workforce Commission. Civil Rights Division
2
Justia Law. Texas Property Code Title 15, Chapter 301 – Texas Fair Housing Act
3
ADA.gov. Americans with Disabilities Act Title III Regulations
4
Texas Workforce Commission. Thresholds for Coverage Under Employment-Related Laws
5
State of Texas. Texas Labor Code Section 21.202 – Statute of Limitations
6
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Time Limits For Filing A Charge
7
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Learn About FHEO’s Process to Report and Investigate Housing Discrimination
8
Texas Workforce Commission. Employment Discrimination
9
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Questions and Answers for Respondents on EEOC’s Position Statement Procedures
10
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Retaliation
11
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. How to File a Charge of Employment Discrimination
12
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Housing Discrimination Under the Fair Housing Act