5th Circuit delivers three nuggets of wisdom for Texas employers

Three new cases from the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to all Texas employers) deliver actionable, bite-sized lessons for employers. Let’s chow down!

Nugget No. 1: No comparator, no claim

Joe Martin Bravo was a teacher for the Dallas Independent School District. He was terminated after six students complained of racially incentive remarks made in the classroom. He sued, claiming discrimination based on his Mexican-American ancestry. He lost because he was unable to identify any similarly situated employees who weren’t a member of his protected class but who also committed the same offense and weren’t terminated. According to the 5th Circuit, no discrimination means no claim. Case over. Bravo v. Dallas Independent School District (5th Cir., 2026)

Bottom line: This is a published decision, which means it’s a controlling precedent in Texas. It is also wrong. Imagine a scenario in which there’s no comparator but the firing manager said, I don’t like Mexican- Americans, and I am glad to find a reason to fire one. Surely that would be a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, would it not? The court didn’t go there, perhaps because “Bravo concedes that our precedent required him to show a similarly situated comparator.” But we use what we are given.

Nugget No. 2: You aren’t liable for harassment by non-employees outside workplace