University of Texas and Ellen Wartella, Appellants v. Paula Poindexter, Appellee, 306 S.W.3d 798

Summary

The professor alleged that the university discriminated against her on the basis of race and retaliated against her for her complaints about discrimination. The court, however, agreed with the university that the trial court erred by denying its plea regarding jurisdiction. The trial court lacked jurisdiction over the professor's retaliation claim because the undisputed evidence showed as a matter of law that the professor did not timely file a retaliation charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) as required under Tex. Lab. Code Ann. §§ 21.201,.202(a). The professor filed her retaliation charge almost a year and a half after the latest effective date on which she alleged that the university retaliated against her, and the retaliation allegation did not relate back to her earlier disparate treatment charge. The trial court lacked jurisdiction over the disparate impact claim because the professor's communication with the EEOC did not satisfy the legal requirements ...