Work Matters: HR employee holds onto retaliation win at Fourth Court of Appeals

In a case that’s troubling for Texas employers but exciting for employees, the Fourth Court of Appeals in San Antonio affirmed a big payday judgment for a plaintiff in a retaliation case under the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act (TCHRA). It is troubling because the facts are mundane.

The Oct. 23 opinion in San Antonio Water System v. Nicholas tells the story: A female paralegal for the San Antonio Water System mentioned to the company GC that the vice president of customer service and communications/external relations department had asked her to lunch and she felt uncomfortable. The CEO got involved, human resources employee (and later plaintiff) Debra Nicholas was asked to investigate, and she and the CEO met with the VP. The CEO told the VP to stop asking out female employees and Nicholas chimed in, “[Y]ou need to listen to Dave [the CEO] because what’s he’s telling you is for your own good.” Fast-forward three years. Nicolas is placed in that very same VP’s chain of command, and she’s let go in a company reorganization.