To encourage employees to report environmental, legal, financial, or safety violations made by their employers, the federal government has passed so-called "whistleblower" laws. These laws are intended to protect employees by making it illegal to fire or otherwise retaliate against an employee who reports an employer's illegal or unethical acts.
Many states, including Texas, have passed whistleblower laws at the state level to protect employees from employer retaliation. Texas generally defines retaliation as suspending, terminating, or taking other adverse action against an employee for reporting a violation. It should be noted that in Texas, only public employees are protected from retaliation (some states protect both public and private employees). Workers in Texas may sue for back pay, benefits and seniority, in addition to other damages claimed in a suit.
Learn more about Texas whistleblower laws in the table and links below. See Whistleblower Retaliation Could Land You in Trouble for more details.
| Code Section | Gov. 554.001 et seq. |
| Prohibited Employer Activity | Can not suspend, terminate or take other adverse personnel action if employee reports a violation of law by employer or other employee |
| Protection for Public or Private Employees? | Public |
| Opportunity for Employer to Correct? | - |
| Remedies | Must report to appropriate law enforcement authority, then exhaust grievance or appeal process before suing no later than 90th day after violation, for injunction, actual damages, court costs and reasonable attorney fees. May also get reinstatement, back pay, full fringe benefits, seniority rights, and set maximum on compensatory damages |
| Penalties | Supervisor, maximum $15,000 fine |
Note: State laws are constantly changing -- contact a Texas whistleblower attorney or conduct your own legal research to verify the state law(s) you are researching.
More Information
You can find additional information on Texas whistleblower laws by clicking on the links provided below. Or, if you’d like to learn more about the topic, in general, check out FindLaw’s whistleblowers section, which discusses topics, such as: what to do if you’ve been fired for whistleblowing, whistleblower protections, qui tam actions, and qui tam protections. Finally, if you feel you have been retaliated against by an employer, or you are thinking about reporting a violation, consider contacting a Texas whistleblower attorney.
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Texas Whistleblower Laws: Related Resources
