Texas State Employee Legal Issues

Anyone who is employed by an entity of the government of the state of Texas is a Texas state employee. A worker employed by the state of Texas might be an employee of a state department, agency or office. A lawyer consultation in Texas with a Texas lawyer would provide an individual with more information about the structure of Texas state government.

What Are Some Common State Employee Legal Issues?

The state of Texas has many private and public sector employee unions. Texas is a right-to-work state, which means that union membership in a workplace that has a collective bargaining agreement is not mandatory. An employee does not have to join the union that represents workers in their department or agency. Of course, a worker may join the union.

However, Texas denies the right to bargain collectively to its public employees. So, for example, the state department or agency formulates employment contracts exclusively. There are “elected consultation” agreements, which are arrangements between, for example, teachers’ unions and local school boards in some Texas cities.

But they are not the equivalent of collective bargaining agreements. The legal effect of such agreements might lead to legal issues.

Otherwise, state employment disputes are much the same as the disputes that arise in private enterprises. Employees need to understand how their performance on the job is evaluated and how often. They would need to know whether they would have the opportunity to improve if their
performance is assessed as subpar.

They also need to understand the circumstances that would justify the termination of their employment. If they believe that their employment was terminated without cause or for an impermissible reason, e.g., because of their age or race, they want to know what processes they might use to challenge the termination.

What Is Privacy in the Workplace?

Employees in every workplace, whether they are onsite or work from home, expect that they have some right to privacy. The rights that they have generally depend on the policies of their employer or what the employee might be able to negotiate. In workplaces where employees are members of labor unions, the collective bargaining agreement might address workplace privacy issues.

However, per past rulings of the Texas Supreme Court, the Constitution of Texas does guarantee a right to privacy that protects them in their places of employment. However, the Texas Constitution does not specify the exact parameters of a worker’s right to privacy.

The Texas Supreme Court has stated that the tort of “intrusion upon private affairs” would constitute an invasion of privacy.

So an employee could sue their Texas state employer for intrusion upon their private affairs. They would have to show that there was an intentional intrusion, physically or otherwise, into their solitude, seclusion, or private affairs or concerns and that the intrusion would be extremely offensive to a reasonable person.

Some of the areas of privacy that employees may have include the following:

• Personal Belongings: Employees generally have a reasonable expectation of privacy when it comes to their personal belongings, such as purses, bags, and briefcases.
• Designated Workspaces. A worker can expect privacy in their own designated work spaces and personal devices brought to the workplace, e.g., their personal phones. Employers typically cannot search or access these areas, but they can if they have a valid cause.
• Personal Communications: If an employee uses employer-provided communication tools such as their work email and messaging apps, employees may well not have a degree of privacy protection in the communication in which they engage with those devices and apps. It would depend on company policies and local laws if there are any.

Employees need to be aware of the privacy policies of their employer regarding personal communication on company-owned devices, platforms, and apps. It would probably be best practice to use personal devices, platforms, and apps for personal communication if an employee wants their communications to be private.

Can Texas State Employees Be Fired?

Texas state employees can be fired. The issue when an employee is fired, of course, is always whether the firing was allowed by the terms of the employment agreement. A state employee may have an employment contract with provisions regarding how long the employment should last and under what conditions it can be terminated.

An agency or department of the State of Texas may have its own policies regarding performance review and the role it plays in justifying termination of employment. Or, an agency or department may have a policy to the effect that employment is at-will and does not have to be justified by some misconduct or subpar performance on the part of the employee.

A state employee would want to talk to a supervisor if they do not have a clear understanding of the circumstances that would justify the termination of their employment and what state law, policy or regulation governs the termination of employment with the state.

How Do State Employees File an Employment Complaint?

The Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division (TWCCRD) Employment Discrimination Inquiry Submission System (EDISS) is the place where an employee can submit their employment discrimination complaint. If an individual’s employer is covered by the TWCCRD, they may file a claim of discrimination and that agency is authorized to investigate the claim.

In addition, a person may always turn to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission if they have a complaint against a state or local government agency that alleges discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, transgender status, or pregnancy status, national origin, disability, or genetic information.

The federal EEOC enforces federal laws against state government agencies and departments if they have 15 or more employees for at least 20 calendar weeks in either the current or prior year.

In the case of age discrimination, the state or local government agency is covered by the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), enforced by the EEOC, regardless of the number of employees it has.

So, for claims of discrimination, a Texas state employee may file complaints with both a Texas state agency and the federal EEOC. The EEOC enforces several federal laws dealing with discrimination:

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 bans discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, and religion.
• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) protects workers who are 40 years old and older from age discrimination.
• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) bans discrimination against people with disabilities. The ADA also requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with disabilities.
• The Genetic Information Non-discrimination Act (GINA) bans discrimination based on an employee’s genetic profile.
• The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) bans discrimination by employers on the basis of citizenship or immigration status.

In addition, a Texas state employee or former employee may always file a lawsuit in a civil court of law for wrongful termination, breach of their employment contract or other civil cause of action.

If a state employee is injured on the job, they should notify their state employer and then file a claim with the Texas workers’ compensation program, the Texas Division of Workers Compensation, which is an insurance program that is regulated by the state. They should do this within a year of their injury. It pays compensation for medical bills and some lost wages for employees who are injured at work or have an illness that is work-related.

Of course, state employee legal services might be needed to address such issues as disputes over wages, hours, overtime pay, and access to various benefits.

Do I Need an Attorney for State Employee Legal Issues?

If you are an employee of the state of Texas with an employment-related legal issue, you want to talk to a Texas workplace lawyer. LegalMatch.com can connect you to a lawyer who is familiar with the many state and federal laws that address legal issues in state employment. Your lawyer can review the facts of your situation and guide you to the resolution you need.