When to call an employment lawyer in Austin, TX
If you were fired, demoted, harassed, or denied the pay you earned at an Austin workplace, you are probably wondering whether the law is on your side. An employment lawyer in Austin, TX can answer that fast. Texas employers hold most of the power in an at-will state, but that power has limits. Federal and Texas law protect Austin workers from discrimination, retaliation, harassment, and wage theft, and the deadlines to act are shorter than most people expect.
Austin passed the one million resident mark in 2025, and its job market is one of the most varied in Texas: big tech, advanced manufacturing, hospital systems, the University of Texas, and state government. That mix draws commuters from every direction along I-35, US-183, and MoPac, and it produces a steady volume of employment disputes.
Key Trial Lawyers represents Austin employees from our office at 1611 West Ave in downtown Austin, minutes from the Travis County Civil and Family Courts Facility on Guadalupe Street. We are a trial firm. We prepare every employment case as if a jury will decide it, and employers’ defense counsel know the difference between a firm that litigates and one that sends demand letters and hopes. Whether you worked at a tech campus in North Austin, a hospital, a state agency, or a small business on South Congress, your rights come from the same statutes. Call (512) 861-1280 for a free consultation.
Why clients in Austin choose our firm
Employment cases in Austin often pit a single worker against a company with in-house counsel, an HR department trained to paper the file, and outside defense firms on retainer. Leveling that field takes a lawyer who tries cases, not a volume operation.
We litigate, we don’t just demand
Plenty of firms will send your employer a letter and take whatever comes back. Key Trial Lawyers builds each claim to be filed and tried. When defense lawyers see a firm with a genuine trial record, settlement conversations change. And if your employer will not offer what the case is worth, we are ready to put it in front of a Travis County jury.
You talk to your lawyer, not a case manager
Employment disputes are personal. Your career, income, and reputation are on the line. When you call our office, you reach the attorney who knows your file, not an intake team reading notes off a screen. We keep our caseload deliberately small so that stays true from first consultation through verdict or settlement.
Preparation wins employment cases
Employers control most of the evidence in these cases: emails, personnel files, pay records, internal complaints. Getting it takes disciplined discovery. We dig into performance reviews that contradict the stated reason for firing, comparator evidence, and the timeline between your protected activity and the punishment that followed. That work turns a suspicion into a case.
Employment claims we handle for Austin workers
Key Trial Lawyers represents employees across the full range of workplace claims under federal law and Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code. If your situation does not fit a category below, call us anyway. Many strong cases start with a worker who simply knows something was not right.
Wrongful termination
Texas is an at-will employment state, which means your employer can generally fire you without giving a reason. But at-will has hard exceptions. An employer cannot fire you because of your race, sex, age, religion, national origin, disability, or pregnancy. It cannot fire you for reporting discrimination or harassment, filing a workers’ compensation claim, refusing to commit an illegal act, or taking legally protected leave. When the stated reason for a firing is a cover for one of those motives, you may have a wrongful termination claim.
Austin’s tech and manufacturing sectors run frequent layoffs, and a restructuring can disguise a discriminatory or retaliatory firing. We examine who was let go, who was kept, and whether the paper trail matches the story.
Workplace discrimination
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code, the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act, prohibit discrimination in hiring, pay, promotion, discipline, and termination based on protected characteristics. Related federal statutes cover age (40 and over), disability, and pregnancy. Discrimination claims rarely come with a confession. They are proven with patterns: qualified people passed over, unequal discipline for the same conduct, comments that reveal bias, and statistics that do not add up.
Sexual harassment and a hostile work environment
No one should have to trade their dignity for a paycheck. Sexual harassment claims cover both quid pro quo demands and a hostile work environment. Texas strengthened its law in 2021: sexual harassment claims under state law now reach employers with as few as one employee, and employers must take immediate and appropriate corrective action once they know or should know about harassment. That matters in Austin, where thousands work for small startups, restaurants, and shops the old law did not reach.
Retaliation
Retaliation claims are often the strongest we see. If you complained about discrimination, reported harassment, participated in an investigation, or asserted your wage rights, your employer cannot punish you for it. Retaliation is not limited to firing. Demotions, cut hours, sudden negative reviews, schedule changes designed to force you out, and exclusion from projects can all qualify. The timeline usually tells the story: protected activity, then punishment.
Wage and hour violations and fair pay
The Fair Labor Standards Act and the Texas Payday Law require employers to pay minimum wage, pay overtime to non-exempt workers, and pay earned wages on time. Common violations in the Austin market include misclassifying employees as independent contractors or as exempt salaried workers, off-the-clock work, unpaid final paychecks, and withheld commissions or bonuses.
Employment claims sometimes overlap with other harms. If a workplace dispute caused you physical injury, our Austin personal injury attorneys can evaluate that claim alongside the employment case. And when the dispute is between you and a business partner or involves a contract rather than an employment relationship, our Austin civil litigation team handles it.
Austin’s major employers and your rights
Austin’s workforce is concentrated in a handful of large sectors. Major employers in the area include H-E-B, the region’s largest private employer with more than 27,000 local workers, Tesla’s Gigafactory Texas, Dell Technologies, St. David’s HealthCare, Ascension Texas, Apple’s North Austin campus, Samsung, the University of Texas at Austin, and Texas state government. We name these employers only to describe the local job market, not to suggest wrongdoing by any of them.
The sector you work in shapes how your case unfolds. Tech workers often face arbitration agreements and layoffs framed as performance decisions. Healthcare workers deal with retaliation risks around patient safety reporting. State employees and university workers face distinct procedures, immunities, and deadlines that apply to government employers. Filing the wrong claim in the wrong forum can sink an otherwise strong case.
Is Texas an at-will employment state? Yes. Texas employers can fire workers for almost any reason or no reason. But federal and Texas law carve out firm exceptions: an employer cannot fire you for a discriminatory reason, in retaliation for protected activity, for filing a workers’ compensation claim, or for refusing to break the law.
Deadlines that can end your claim before it starts
Employment law deadlines are short and unforgiving. Most discrimination, harassment, and retaliation claims require an administrative charge before you can ever sue. A charge with the Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division must generally be filed within 180 days of the discriminatory act; the federal EEOC deadline extends to 300 days for most Texas claims. Miss the window and the claim is usually gone, no matter how strong the facts are.
How long do you have to file a discrimination charge in Austin? Generally 180 days from the discriminatory act to file with the Texas Workforce Commission, or 300 days to file with the federal EEOC. These administrative deadlines apply before any lawsuit can be filed, so talking to an employment lawyer quickly protects your claim.
Wage claims run on different clocks. FLSA claims generally reach back two years, or three for willful violations, and Texas Payday Law claims must be filed within 180 days of when the wages were due. The safest move is simple: do not sit on it.
How we build employment cases
Strong employment cases are built before the lawsuit is filed. We start by locking down your evidence: offer letters, handbooks, performance reviews, emails, texts, pay stubs, and the names of coworkers who saw what happened. Then we reconstruct the timeline, because in discrimination and retaliation cases, sequence is proof.
From there we handle the administrative process, drafting the charge so it preserves every claim rather than boxing you in. In litigation, we take the depositions that matter: the decision-maker, the HR representative who papered the file, and the coworkers who were treated better. We work with economists to prove lost pay, benefits, and career trajectory, and we present the human cost too, because juries respond to what a firing does to a person’s life. You will know the strategy at every stage: what the case is worth, what it will take, and where the risks are.
Where Austin employment cases get decided
Austin employment disputes move through several forums. Charges start at the Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division or the federal EEOC. Lawsuits under Chapter 21 of the Texas Labor Code can be filed in Travis County’s twelve civil district courts, which sit at the Travis County Civil and Family Courts Facility at 1700 Guadalupe Street in downtown Austin. Federal claims proceed in federal court, and many Austin employers push disputes into private arbitration.
The forum changes the timeline, the decision-maker, and the strategy. Our office sits minutes from the Travis County civil courthouse, and we build every case to succeed wherever it lands, including arbitration, where preparation matters even more because appeal rights are limited.
Serving clients throughout Austin and surrounding communities
We represent workers across every part of Austin, from downtown and the Capitol complex to The Domain, East Austin, Mueller, South Congress, and the university area. Because Austin’s workforce commutes from across Central Texas on I-35, US-183, SH 130, and MoPac, our Austin team also represents clients in the surrounding cities.
Nearby cities we serve include Round Rock, Pflugerville, Cedar Park, Del Valle, West Lake Hills, and Manor. You can also learn more about our full employment law practice and the claims we handle statewide.
What it costs to hire us
Most employment cases we accept are handled on a contingency fee basis: you pay no attorney fees unless we recover money for you. We explain the fee structure clearly before you sign anything, and the consultation itself is free. Many employment laws also let a winning employee recover attorney fees from the employer, which can change the math on a claim that feels too small to pursue.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an employment lawyer cost in Austin?
At Key Trial Lawyers, the consultation is free and most employment cases are taken on contingency, meaning you owe no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for you. We explain the fee before you sign anything. Many employment statutes also let a winning employee recover attorney fees from the employer.
Is suing your employer worth it?
If your employer broke the law and it cost you your job, your pay, or your health, it is usually worth at least an honest evaluation. We will tell you whether the timing, the evidence, and how similar employees were treated add up to a real claim. Because the consultation is free and most cases are on contingency, learning where you stand costs you nothing.
How long do I have to file a discrimination claim in Austin?
Generally, you must file a charge with the Texas Workforce Commission Civil Rights Division within 180 days of the discriminatory act, or with the federal EEOC within 300 days. These deadlines come before any lawsuit can be filed, and missing them usually ends the claim. Contact an attorney as soon as possible after the incident.
Does Texas sexual harassment law apply to small Austin employers?
Yes. Since 2021, Texas sexual harassment law reaches employers with as few as one employee, and it requires employers to take immediate and appropriate corrective action once they know or should know about harassment. That means workers at Austin’s small startups, restaurants, and shops have protections that older law did not provide.
I signed an arbitration agreement at a tech company. Do I still have a case?
Usually, yes. An arbitration agreement changes where your case is decided, not whether you have one. Your discrimination, retaliation, and wage claims still exist; they are heard by an arbitrator instead of a jury. Some agreements are unenforceable, and federal law now lets many sexual harassment claims proceed in court despite an arbitration agreement.
Contact an Austin employment lawyer today
Employment claims are won and lost on evidence and deadlines, and both work against you the longer you wait. Witnesses move on to other companies, and the 180-day charge window keeps running whether or not you have talked to a lawyer.
Key Trial Lawyers offers a free, confidential consultation to Austin workers. We will listen, tell you honestly whether you have a claim, and lay out what pursuing it would look like. If we take your case, you work directly with a trial attorney who prepares it to win, at the negotiating table, in arbitration, or in a Travis County courtroom.
Call (512) 861-1280 or reach us through our website. You did the work. If your employer broke the law, make them answer for it.
