How to file an EEOC charge in Texas

Check your deadline first

Before anything else, find the date of the last thing your employer did to you, such as the day you were told you were fired, demoted, or turned down. In Texas you generally have:

• 300 days to file a charge with the EEOC under federal law, and
• 180 days to file a complaint with the Texas Workforce Commission under Texas law (300 days for sexual harassment).

Filing within 180 days protects both. Weekends and holidays count. How the 180- and 300-day deadlines work, or use our deadline check to count the days.

Make sure the EEOC is the right place

The EEOC handles complaints that an employer treated you differently, harassed you, or retaliated against you because of:

• race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), or national origin
• age, if you are 40 or older
• disability, or genetic information
• complaining about discrimination, taking part in an investigation, or asking for a disability accommodation (retaliation)

Employer size matters. Most federal laws apply to employers with 15 or more employees (20 or more for age discrimination). Texas law covers the same 15-employee employers plus counties, cities, and state agencies of any size, and since September 2021 it covers sexual harassment by any employer with at least one employee.

Federal government employees follow a different process: you generally must contact your agency's EEO counselor within 45 days.

Gather what you'll need

The EEOC will ask for the facts in an interview. Having them written down makes the interview faster and your charge more complete.

• Your contact information, and a safe email address and phone number
• Your employer's legal name, address and phone, and roughly how many people work there
• Your job title, start date, and (if it applies) the date you were fired or quit
• The dates of each key event: complaints you made, discipline, demotions, schedule or pay changes, termination
• Names and job titles of the people involved, and of anyone who saw what happened
• Why you believe it happened because of your race, sex, age, disability, complaint, or other protected reason, such as comments, timing, or coworkers who were treated better
• Copies of what you already have: offer letter, evaluations, write-ups, termination notice, emails or texts, and any written complaint

Don't take confidential company records you aren't allowed to have. Ask a lawyer first.

Start your charge

There are four ways to start. All of them are free.

1. Online. Submit an inquiry on the EEOC Public Portal (publicportal.eeoc.gov), then schedule an intake interview by phone, video, or in person.
2. By phone. Call 1-800-669-4000. The EEOC doesn't take charges over the phone, but it can start the process and schedule your interview.
3. In person. Texas has four EEOC offices: the Houston District Office, the Dallas District Office, the San Antonio Field Office and the El Paso Area Office.
4. By mail. Send a letter with your contact information, your employer's information, what happened, when, and why you believe it was discriminatory. Sign it; the EEOC can't investigate an unsigned letter.

Review the charge before you sign

After your interview, the EEOC drafts a Charge of Discrimination (Form 5) for you to review and sign. Read it carefully, because a later lawsuit is generally limited to the claims in your charge and those that would reasonably grow out of the EEOC's investigation of it. Check that:

• every basis is checked: for example, both race and retaliation if you were fired after complaining about race discrimination
• the employer's name is its correct legal name
• the dates cover the earliest and latest events you're complaining about
• the description includes each thing that happened to you: the harassment, the write-up, the demotion, the firing

If something is missing or wrong, ask the EEOC to fix it before you sign.

Dual filing with the Texas Workforce Commission

The EEOC and the Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division share charges. A charge filed with either agency is automatically filed with the other, which is why your Form 5 will usually list the Texas Workforce Commission too. You can also file directly with the Texas Workforce Commission.

Dual filing matters because Texas law has its own claims and its own deadlines: 180 days to file (300 for sexual harassment), and a separate right-to-sue notice later. If you file with the EEOC after day 180, your federal claims can still be on time while most Texas claims are lost.

What happens after you file

1. Your employer is notified of the charge.
2. Mediation may be offered. It's voluntary and free. Many charges settle this way.
3. Your employer responds, usually with a position statement. You can answer it with your side and any documents.
4. The EEOC investigates or closes the charge. Investigations often take many months.
5. You receive a Notice of Right to Sue. Usually that happens when the EEOC closes the charge. You can also ask for one after 180 days. From then on, the clock to file a lawsuit is short: generally 90 days. What to do after a Right to Sue letter.

Keep doing your job and keep a record of anything that happens after you file. Punishing you for filing a charge is illegal retaliation.

Should you talk to a lawyer before you file?

You don't need a lawyer to file a charge. A lawyer can still help. They make sure the charge includes every claim, check deadlines under other laws that don't go through the EEOC (like the Family and Medical Leave Act), and deal with your employer for you.