The university then issued a final reprimand and a five-day suspension without pay for the plaintiff’s behavior during the meeting. In late January 2020, the university terminated her employment based on her failure to adhere to her supervisor’s expectations.
In December 2020, the plaintiff sued the university under the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act in the Texas Labor Code. She claimed that the university terminated her in retaliation for her internal complaint and EEOC charge.
Retaliation claim rejected
The trial court disagreed with the university’s jurisdictional argument in relation to the plaintiff’s retaliation claim. The university appealed. In the case of University of Houston v. Monique Sheppard, the Texas Fourteenth Court of Appeals reversed the decision of the trial court and dismissed the plaintiff’s retaliation claim.
The university alleged that it terminated the plaintiff due to her inability to adequately perform her job duties, her unprofessional behavior, and her disregard for her supervisor’s authority. The plaintiff failed to disprove these non-discriminatory or nonretaliatory reasons for termination, the university argued.
The issue in this case was whether the university’s stated reasons for the termination were false. The appellate court addressed the evidence and concluded that the plaintiff failed to establish that these reasons were false.