Sexual Harassment Attorney in Austin, Texas

Sexual harassment claims require careful evaluation of the specific conduct, the employer's response, and the available evidence. Two employees can experience the same workplace and reach different legal conclusions about whether actionable harassment occurred. Employment attorneys who handle these cases assess the severity, the pervasiveness, the management response (or lack thereof), and whether the employer can be held liable — before advising on whether a claim is viable.

Title VII defines two categories of sexual harassment. Quid pro quo harassment occurs when a supervisor makes submission to sexual conduct a condition of a tangible employment benefit — a raise, a promotion, continued employment, a favorable assignment. A single incident is sufficient. The employer is automatically liable for quid pro quo harassment by a supervisor when it results in a tangible employment action. Hostile work environment harassment occurs when unwelcome sexual conduct — comments, touching, images, jokes — is severe or pervasive enough to create a work environment that a reasonable person would find hostile or abusive.

For hostile work environment claims, the severity and pervasiveness of the conduct are the central questions. Courts look at whether the conduct was physically threatening or humiliating (rather than merely offensive), how often it occurred, whether it interfered with the employee's work performance, and the psychological effect on the employee. A single severe incident (such as a sexual assault) can be sufficient; less severe conduct typically must form a pattern.

Employer liability for coworker harassment differs from supervisor harassment. When the harasser is a coworker rather than a supervisor, the employer is liable only if it knew or should have known about the harassment and failed to take prompt corrective action. This is why reporting harassment through the employer's internal complaint process matters — both to give the employer notice and to preserve legal claims. However, if the employer retaliates against an employee for reporting, that retaliation is itself an independent legal violation.

Texas law expanded sexual harassment protections effective September 1, 2021, under Senate Bill 45. Texas Labor Code §21.141 now defines sexual harassment independently, applies to employers with one or more employees (unlike Title VII's 15-employee threshold), extends the deadline to file a charge with the TWC to 300 days (from 180 days), and explicitly creates liability for supervisors and coworkers who engage in harassment (not just the employer entity). This expansion significantly broadened the scope of actionable harassment in Texas.

We connect Austin employees who have experienced sexual harassment with employment attorneys who evaluate both the federal and Texas-law angles. The 2021 Texas expansion means that employees at small employers — previously unprotected under Title VII — may now have actionable claims under state law. Prompt consultation is important given the applicable deadlines.