Title VII is one of the methods to get past the wall of  “employment at will”  and refers to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. This is the federal law that protects employees from being discriminated against or discharged because of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.  Texas law has a mirror statute called the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act (TCHRA) that also protects an employee from being discharged based on the above reasons but also adds age or disability.  Federal law has two separate laws on this subject- the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  An employee can proceed under either the federal or state law and can also use both at the same time.  There are many consequences and strategic reasons for using each and choices must be made carefully based on these matters.  A lawyer has to thoroughly examine the facts and law to determine which law would be best to proceed under.  We will discuss this more in depth in later posts.