Key Takeaways for Employers from Texas’s New Sexual Harassment Laws

4514 Cole Ave, #600 | Dallas, Texas 75205

Call Kardell Law Group 214-306-8045

September 1 marked the day on which changes to the Texas Labor Code regarding sexual harassment officially went into effect. The rules affect smaller employers who had been excluded from being officially classified as “employers” in previous iterations of the Texas Labor Code.

Here are the key changes employers should be aware of:

“Employer” definitions: Previously, sexual harassment protections only applied to employers that had 15 or more employees for at least 20 weeks out of the year. The revised Texas Labor Code defines an employer for these purposes as having one or more employees. This means small businesses under the previous 15-person threshold must implement policies or handbooks that prohibit sexual harassment and develop complaint and investigation procedures.
Longer statutes of limitations: Sexual harassment claims now have a longer statute of limitations, increasing from 180 days to 300 days from the date of the alleged harassment incident for conduct that occurs after September 1, 2021.
Duty to remedy: Under previous rules, employers could be liable for coworker harassment if the employer knew or should reasonably have known the harassment was occurring and failed to take proper action. The new law says employers commit unlawful practices if sexual harassment occurs and the employer, supervisors or agents knew (or should have known) the conduct was occurring and failed to take immediate and appropriate action to correct the issue.

All employers should take the time to review their sexual harassment policies and update where needed, with an eye on compliance for these changes to the state’s rules.

To learn more about the legal options you have available if you’ve been a victim of sexual harassment in Texas, contact an experienced whistleblower lawyer at Kardell Law Group.

By Steve Kardell | Published October 28, 2021 | Posted in Sexual Harassment

Awards & Honors

Our Office

Dallas Office
4514 Cole Ave
#600
Dallas, Texas 75205
Phone: 214-306-8045
Fax: 469-729-9926

Testimonials

"Steve Kardell was terrific in representing me in some very adversarial discussions with Citigroup and also later represented me in my testimony before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission." -Richard Bowen, Citigroup Whistleblower
"Incredible knowledge of employee related concerns and equally brilliant knowledge of health care regulations, standards of practice. I would recommend this firm to anyone." -V.B.
"Reaching out to Steve Kardell was the best decision I made. His ability to provide immediate insight and direction was very powerful, and a huge relief during a very stressful time period. For anyone struggling with a whistleblower situation, I would highly recommend at least speaking with Steve. After a 10 minute call with him, I had a better understanding of what I was dealing with. Even better, he gave me some immediate hope. In the end Steve did a better job than I thought was possible. Steve was able to get in contact with people in my organization, that I didn’t have access to. Because of his years of experience, he already has contacts in many organizations in Dallas. The entire situation was handled peacefully. I was impressed by his ability to “keep the peace”–rather than creating a battle with the organization. The reason I didn’t reach out to a lawyer initially, was because I thought it would mean an immediate end to any hope of a positive relationship with the company. Steve was able to address my concerns, and in the end I was able to continue to work for them." -KS
"Never thought my career would end like it did after 30 years of service. I was part of the first round of the so called reduction of force. I asked myself how can I be part of this with 30 years of seniority. How did they pick these 90 plus employees? Now, the culture of this organization made you question every decision they made. It wasn’t what you knew it’s was a culture of who you know. Nonetheless, I did not accept their severance package. I immediately starting looking for an attorney who would take on my case. After the initial call to Steve I had hope again. He was open and honest about everything and reassured me he would do his best for me, and he did. I had an awesome outcome. Thanks Steve you’re the best." -S.S.