Dallas Independent School District v. Powell

In Dallas Independent School District v. Powell, 68 S.W.3d 89 (Tex. App.-Dallas 2001, no pet.), the Court considered whether an employee of the school district was required to exhaust his administrative remedies prior to filing a retaliatory discharge claim under section 451.001 of the labor code. The school district's grievance policy stated all employees had the right to "present grievances concerning their wages, hours of employment, or conditions of work." Id. at 90. The majority concluded a "grievance procedure for 'wages, hours of work, or conditions of work' does not include complaints regarding retaliatory discharge for filing a workers' compensation claim" and, accordingly, the employee was not required to exhaust any administrative remedies prior to filing suit. Id. at 91.