
Conroe Independent School District (the District) appealed the trial court’s denial of its plea to the jurisdiction, seeking dismissal of a suit filed by its former employee, Maris Osuna. Osuna alleged wrongful termination after filing a worker’s compensation claim. Osuna’s claim centered on her discharge after being placed on worker’s compensation leave following exposure to a chemical disinfectant at work in August 2020.
Osuna, hired by the District as a custodian in August 2018, fell ill in August 2020 after being exposed to a chemical disinfectant. After seeing a doctor and receiving a note to return to work with restrictions on exposure to the chemical Quat 256, Osuna alleged that the District demanded she modify her doctor’s note. When she refused, she was terminated on August 13, 2020. Osuna filed suit, claiming her termination was retaliation for filing a worker’s compensation claim, a violation of Texas Labor Code section 451.001.
The District argued that governmental immunity protected it from Osuna’s claim, contending that the Legislature had not waived immunity for worker’s compensation retaliation claims against local governmental entities, except for first responders.
The trial court denied the District’s plea to the jurisdiction, interpreting Labor Code sections 504.002(10) and 504.002(a-1) as implying a waiver of immunity by capping damages in retaliation claims. The appellate court found that section 504.002(c) explicitly states that nothing in Chapter 504 or Subtitle A authorizes a cause of action against a political subdivision beyond those permitted by the Texas Tort Claims Act. The court emphasized that the only statutory waiver of immunity for local governmental entities in worker’s compensation retaliation claims applied to first responders, not custodial employees like Osuna.
Ultimately, the appellate court concluded that the trial court had erred in denying the District’s plea to the jurisdiction. The court reversed the trial court’s order, granted the District’s plea, and dismissed Osuna’s suit for lack of jurisdiction. This ruling highlights that while Texas law offers protections for employees against retaliation for filing worker’s compensation claims, these protections do not extend to employees of local governmental entities like school districts unless explicitly waived by the Legislature. Conroe Independent School District, Appellant v. Maria Osuna, Appellee, No. 09-22-00424-CV, 2024 WL 2340797 (Tex. App. May 23, 2024).
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