Tarrant County College suit settled after creating new protections for Texas LGBTQ employees

Tarrant County College settled with a former employee in a discrimination suit which helped set a precedent for protecting LGBTQ employees from discrimination.

In 2019, Amanda Sims filed a lawsuit against Tarrant County College on the allegation that the college discriminated against and eventually fired her because she is a lesbian.

Tarrant County College settled the suit by paying Sims $45,000.

When the Star-Telegram contacted Tarrant County College for comment on the suit Monday, a representative said the staff member who handles requests was out of town and hung up the phone.

The suit said the discrimination started after Sims revealed to her supervisor that she was gay. The supervisor expressed religious views that held gay people in a negative light and once said to Sims: “I have to overlook my bias when it comes to you,” according to the suit.

“I was a good employee who worked my heart out for TCC students,” Sims, who worked for TCC for three years as a coordinator with student groups, said in a news release Monday from her attorneys’ office. “When I stood up for who I was and filed my complaint is when they decided to come after me.”

After Sims reported to the Fort Worth Human Relations Commission that Tarrant County College was discriminating against her, the college put her on administrative leave and fired her, the suit says.

Sims’ suit was initially filed under the Texas Constitution and the Texas Whistleblower Act, which protects employees from being retaliated against for good faith reporting.

Tarrant County College filed a motion for a judge to dismiss the suit, but Dallas County 116th Civil District Court Judge Tonya Parker denied the motion. The college appealed Parker’s decision, which led to the Texas Fifth District Court of Appeals in Dallas hearing arguments in the case.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court heard the Georgia case of Bostock v. Clayton County and made a ruling that changed the fate of Sims’ case. In June 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that LGBTQ employees are protected from employment discrimination under federal law.

On March 10, 2021, the Fifth District Court of Appeals used Sims’ case to align Texas state law with the federal decision made in Bostock. The justices ruled the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act must extend its protections to include discrimination based on a person’s sexual or gender orientation. Because of the ruling, the justices found Sims’ lawsuit could be brought under the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act, which enforces state laws prohibiting employment and housing discrimination.

“The Court’s message to employers could not be clearer: Texas law makes it illegal to discriminate against gay and lesbian employees,” said Sims’ attorney, Jason Smith.

When the case was sent back to the trial court, Parker rejected Tarrant County College’s assertion that there was no evidence of sexual orientation discrimination, and the case was set for trial on Jan. 30.

The Friday before the trial date, Sims and Tarrant County College reached a tentative settlement on Jan. 27. On Feb. 21, the Tarrant County College Board of Trustees approved the settlement agreement.

“I’m glad I stood up for myself and that other gays and lesbians will be protected as a result,” Sims said in the release from Smith’s law firm.