— Retaliation Claims Category Archives — Page 2 of 5 — Dallas Employment Lawyer Blog Published by Dallas, Texas Employment Lawyers

What is an Adverse Action, and should I only talk to a lawyer after experiencing one?

February 16, 2026 | Robert J. Wiley

Summary: This blog briefly goes over the “adverse action” standard in Texas and some recent changes in the law in that area. It then focuses on the question of whether you should wait for an adverse action to happen before talking to a lawyer about your rights.

Roughly speaking, employment law in Texas is centered around what are called “adverse actions”: you can seek legal redress from your employer if you can identify some harm it caused to the terms or conditions of your employment. Of course, that is separate from the critical question of why the employer did what it did, and whether that why was illegal.

I previously wrote a blog on how Texas employees no longer need to prove they suffered an “ultimate employment action” or financial harm to establish they were discriminated against. And retaliation claims are subject to an even lower bar for adverse actions, requiring only the employee show the employer took a “materially adverse” action that would (or could) dissuade a reasonable person from engaging in legally protected activity.

If HR Isn’t There to Help You, Who Is HR For?

February 9, 2026 | Robert J. Wiley

This blog explains the role Human Resources actually plays in the workplace, why HR is not an employee advocate, and why Texas employees should still report workplace issues while protecting themselves through documentation and realistic expectations.

Blog Text:

Many employees believe Human Resources exists to help them, which is a totally understandable assumption. HR is the go-to for employees with just about any workplace question and is often presented as a neutral resource. But when a serious workplace issue arises, such as discrimination, harassment, or retaliation, employees often discover that HR’s role is not what they expected.

Workers in Domestically Violent Relationships

January 19, 2026 | Robert J. Wiley

Rachel Bethel Dallas
Trial Attorney

Domestic violence (“DV”) does not confine itself to a victim’s home. DV hunts survivors down to factory floors, hospital units, classrooms, and office desks.

Several states have recognized the intimate link between a survivor’s physical safety and a survivor’s financial security.

New Year, Same Tactics: How to Stay One Step Ahead of Your Employer Going Into 2026

January 5, 2026 | Robert J. Wiley

For many Dallas employees, December feels like the worst time to deal with a work problem. Everyone is juggling holiday travel, office potlucks, and year-end deadlines, and it’s extremely tempting to tell yourself, “I’ll deal with that in January.” We hear this all the time. Employees want to rock around the Christmas tree, not rock the boat, and employers often count on that hesitation. Unfortunately, your workplace rights don’t take a holiday break, no matter how much we wish the law would let us hit “pause” until after New Year’s.

The truth is that waiting can have real consequences. Employment laws run on strict timelines, evidence can disappear quickly, and employers make major decisions in December that can shape your case long before the new year ever arrives. As cozy as it sounds to postpone everything until January, that delay can close doors you didn’t even know were closing.

One of the most important reasons not to put off seeking advice is the legal deadlines that apply to discrimination and retaliation claims. In Texas, employees generally have 300 days from the date of an adverse action to file with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The EEOC explains these filing rules clearly on their website. Meanwhile, state-level claims filed through the Texas Workforce Commission often have even shorter timelines. Here’s the part many employees don’t realize: the clock keeps ticking regardless of holidays, holiday parties, or your supervisor being “OOO until January 3.” If your boss retaliated against you in March or April, December might be your last chance to preserve your rights.

From ‘Bullying’ to Protected Class: Making Your Workplace Complaint Count

November 6, 2025 | Cassidy Monska

Dallas Employment Trial Lawyer Cassidy Monska

If you’re experiencing discrimination or harassment at work, your first instinct may be to tell someone, but how you report it can make a significant difference in how your complaint is handled and whether you’re protected under the law.

Why Reporting Is Essential

When the Workplace Turns Spooky: Retaliation and Disability Discrimination in Texas

October 24, 2025 | Robert J. Wiley

October is here—pumpkins on porches, costumes in the stores, and a chill in the air. But for many Texas employees, the real scare isn’t haunted houses or ghost stories. It’s the fear of speaking up at work. When employees exercise their rights—whether requesting a disability accommodation or reporting unfair treatment—they too often face retaliation. And that’s more frightening than anything you’ll find in a corn maze.

In this post, we’ll look at how disability rights and workplace retaliation intersect, what protections the law gives Texas employees, and what steps you can take if your employer crosses the line.

Disability Rights: Not a Favor, a Legal Obligation

Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late – Why Employees Should Contact an Attorney Early When Facing a Workplace Dispute

October 13, 2025 | justia.admin

Rachel Bethel – Trial Attorney

Workplace issues can start subtly: a passive-aggressive comment, a suspicious change in workload, or a shift in how management treats you. Many employees hope these problems will work themselves out or go away eventually. However, waiting too long to get legal guidance can make things worse & potentially limit your options later on.

Whether you’re facing discrimination, retaliation, or a hostile work environment, speaking with an employment attorney early in the process can be one of the smartest moves you make.

Standing Up for Safety: How Dallas Workers Can Fight Retaliation Under OSHA

October 7, 2025 | Robert J. Wiley

Every employee deserves a safe workplace. Whether you work in construction, health care, retail, or an office, your employer has a legal duty to provide an environment free from known hazards. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) was created to enforce these rules and protect employees when companies cut corners. But too often, workers hesitate to speak up because they fear retaliation.

The truth is that retaliation is common—and it’s illegal. Workers who raise safety concerns, request inspections, or file OSHA complaints are protected by federal law. Retaliation can take many forms: sudden termination, reduced hours, demotion, harassment, or even blacklisting that makes it harder to find work in the future. These actions are meant to intimidate, but OSHA’s whistleblower provisions exist precisely to stop employers from silencing their workers.

Filing an OSHA complaint is straightforward. You can file online, by mail, or by calling your local OSHA office. Complaints can even be made anonymously if you want to protect your identity. Dallas employees who see unsafe conditions—such as faulty equipment, exposure to toxic chemicals, or lack of fall protection—have the right to demand change. Once a complaint is filed, OSHA can inspect the workplace, interview employees, and require the employer to fix violations.

Fired for Following the Law? Know Your Rights in Texas

October 5, 2025 | Deontae Wherry

Dallas Employment Trial Lawyer Deontae Wherry

Picture this: you are at work when someone hands you a subpoena. You did not ask for it, and maybe you do not even want to be involved, but now you are legally required to show up in court or provide documents. You want to do the right thing, so you comply with the subpoena. But when you get back to work, your boss is not happy. Maybe he/she cut your hours, your responsibilities change, or, worst of all, he/she terminates your job.

If that sounds unfair, that’s because it is. And, in Texas, it is also illegal.

Texas May Soon Be Another Battleground Over Free Speech Rights in Academia

October 3, 2025 | Robert J. Wiley

Just at the start of September 2025, two different Texas public universities have fired professors as a result of their speech. Texas State University explicitly fired Professor Thomas Alter because of a speech he gave at a conference of socialists, and Texas A&M University fired Professor Melissa McCoul after a student, in a controversial viral video, confronted her about what she was supposedly teaching about gender in her classroom. While both of these events just happened and it is hard to say what might eventually become of these cases, they each appear to set up a possible confrontation between the universities and their professors’ regarding free speech rights.

And there have been many such confrontations in recent years. In July and August 2025, for instance, the Third Circuit and Seventh Circuit Courts of Appeals each issued decisions addressing whether schools and universities could legally fire some employees over their (politically right wing) speech. The point of this article isn’t to dissect these any of those cases—much less the merits of the underlying speech—but to discuss what legal standard courts in the Fifth Circuit (which includes Texas) might apply should disputes over these sorts of terminations go forward.

The First Amendment prevents federal and state governments from infringing on the rights of people to engage in free speech, but that is not an absolute right. Nonetheless, public employees are protected against termination for engaging in speech protected by the First Amendment. The standard for this has been set out by the U.S. Supreme Court in a number of cases. To prove that their speech was protected, the public employee must show that they spoke (1) as a citizen (2) on a matter of public concern, and that (3) the public employer did not otherwise have an adequate justification for treating the public employee differently than any other member of the public saying the same thing.