How Do I File a Lawsuit After Getting My EEOC Right-to-Sue Letter in Texas?

Attorney Answer

The most urgent thing to know is that you generally have only 90 days from the date you received your EEOC right-to-sue letter to file your lawsuit in court, so figuring out your exact receipt date and moving quickly matters more than anything else right now.

Under federal law (Title VII, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e-5(f)(1)), once the EEOC issues a right-to-sue letter, you have 90 days to file a civil lawsuit based on the claims in your EEOC charge. This deadline is strictly enforced in most cases, meaning missing it can permanently bar your claim, regardless of how strong your case is. The 90 days generally starts from the day you actually received the letter, whether by mail or electronically, not the date printed on it, so pin down that receipt date precisely.

Here is the general process for filing:

1. Confirm your deadline. Locate the letter and, if possible, any mail or email records showing exactly when you received it. Count 90 days forward from that date. 2. Decide where to file. Employment discrimination lawsuits based on an EEOC right-to-sue letter are typically filed in federal district court, in the district where the discrimination occurred, where the employer does business, or where your employment records are kept. 3. Prepare your complaint. This is the formal legal document laying out who you are suing, the facts, the type of discrimination, for example race, sex, age, disability, or retaliation, and what you are asking the court for. This generally needs to match the claims in your original EEOC charge. 4. File with the court clerk. This usually involves a filing fee, though you can ask the court about a fee waiver if you cannot afford it. 5. Serve your former employer. After filing, your former employer must be formally notified of the lawsuit according to the court's rules.

Because federal court procedure has technical requirements, and because your 90-day window does not pause for any reason, this is a situation where getting an employment attorney involved quickly can make a real difference, both in meeting the deadline and in drafting a complaint that holds up.

This is general legal information, not legal advice. A Texas employment attorney can confirm your exact filing deadline and help you file correctly before it passes.