Legal Question in Discrimination Law in Texas

Re: Years of Discrimination

You probably have a claim, but first you need to get down to the EEOC IMMEDIATELY and file a claim for constructive discharge. Get an attorney first, though. After the EEO has a crack at it, if/when they decide to do nothing, you can take your claim into federal court.

I appreciate your frustration, and you probably put up with alot, but your major problem at this point is that you quit before seeking legal advice, and gave your former bosses plenty of warning as to why you were leaving.

NEVER, EVER QUIT before seeking legal advice. No matter what you put up with (short of life endangerment), you can always put up with it for another week while you interview lawyers, who can give you good advice. Plus, it's another week's pay to cover litigation expenses. Interviews cost you nothing, and can save you to infinitely more painful situation in which you have no remedy in the courts because you took actions which killed your own case.

It is much more difficult to win a constructive discharge claim of discrimination than it is to identify discrimination in the case of an firing or failure to promote. You have to be able to prove that it was so bad that you really had no choice but to quit, --and that's a hard road to go. If you found another job, it's even harder, because the judge will wonder if you've been sufficiently harmed to spend time in his/her court.

You got a lot of documentation of your claims and names and addresses of witnesses! That's a tremendous help, because any employer worth it's salt would have immediately done a vetting of all staff to ward off a claim of discrimination that they anticipated coming from you. And the e-mail trail is fabulous, because now your attorney knows where to look.

After 8 years, you job was to learn how to identify points of leverage, to create them where missing and to use them judiciously. Maybe your best strategy was to make contacts outside of the firm while doing an excellent job for the company. Get out in the community as a company representative, let non-company people see how hard you work without being obnoxious. Then, when the headhunter calls, you can negotiate for a job that will reward you appropriately. THEN, you quit and don't look back, leaving on as good terms if possible. You darned near ran the division you were in, so take those skills to someone who will appreciate them and thank this crap job for the lessons you learned.

Re: Years of Discrimination

Answer: Perhaps (depending on your particular facts of disparate treatment).

Additional factors to consider would be the company's compensation practice and the circumstance surrounding the "resignation."