Constructive Discharge Claims

Constructive discharge, also known as constructive dismissal, is a type of claim against an employer for unlawful termination. Constructive discharge occurs when an employer chooses to deliberately make an employee’s working environment so unbearable the employee feels compelled to resign.

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Constructive Discharge & Discrimination

Constructive discharge is a type of discrimination that is used as a tool to push people out of employment with the entity they work for. For example, it could be used as a racism tool to push a minority out of the company, or it could be used to violate the rights of freedom of religion in the work-place by terminating them through no fault of their own. An employer could even have someone removed over a personality conflict. Whatever the case, constructive discharge is an act of employment discrimination. Understanding laws regarding constructive discharge is important because, although an employee who quits their job is usually prevented from filing a lawsuit, the laws governing constructive discharge would allow the employee to argue that the true cause of the termination was the fault of their employer.

Texas Law and Constructive Discharge

Texas courts use six factors to assess whether an employee was constructively discharged, fired or terminated. They are as follows:

1. The employee was demoted.
2. The employee’s salary was reduced
3. The employee’s job responsibilities were reduced.
4. The employee was reassigned to menial or degrading work.
5. Badgering, harassment, or humiliation by the employer was calculated to encourage the employee to resign.
6. The employee is offered early retirement that would make the employee worse off financially, or otherwise, whether they accepted the offer or not.