Lady Justice
HOUSTON - The 14th Court of Appeals has dismissed claims of racial and age discrimination against Harris Health.
Following her termination, Angela Ashley brought a discrimination lawsuit against Harris Health, a governmental entity that operates hospitals and clinics throughout Harris County.
Court records show that Ashley was hired in 2006. In October 2024, a Hispanic coworker, Edith Espin, allegedly “instigated an argument with” Ashley, becoming upset and yelling at her.
Ashley claims that the coworker “was so irate and out of control that another employee had to stop her from physically attacking” her. After a period of suspension, Harris Health terminated both Espin and Ashley’s employment.
In her complaint, Ashley alleged that Harris Health had never terminated a White or Hispanic employee “based on another coworker’s instigation of an argument or situation” and that she was terminated because she was Black and over 40 years old.
Harris Health responded by filing a plea to the jurisdiction, arguing that Ashley could not establish a prima facie case of race or age discrimination based on disparate treatment because both she and Espin were terminated for violating Harris Health’s conflict-in-the-workplace policy.
Harris Health also challenged Ashley’s allegation that she was a victim of the altercation, asserting that after conducting an investigation, it determined that both employees should be terminated.
“Both Angela and Edith engaged in inappropriate behavior, violating workplace conduct expectations by arguing loudly and using profanity in the presence of patients and coworkers,” states the investigation report. “Their actions disrupted the work environment and created a hostile situation that required intervention from their manager.
“The use of aggressive language, and their attempts to physically confront each other, contributed to a finding that both employees acted inappropriately and failed to maintain professionalism.”
The trial court denied the plea. On appeal, Harris Health argued that the Commission on Human Rights Act does not require trial courts to serve as appellate forums for matters of employee discipline.
On Jan. 22, the 14th Court reversed the trial court’s order denying Harris Health’s plea to the jurisdiction and rendered judgment dismissing Ashley’s claims for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.
“Reviewing the jurisdictional allegations, taking them as true, and construing them in favor of Ashley, we conclude that Ashley failed to present a genuine issue of material fact that age or race was a motivating factor behind her termination,” the opinion states.
“The Act thus does not waive Harris Health’s governmental immunity from this suit, and the trial court therefore erred by not granting its plea to the jurisdiction.”
Appeals case No. 14-25-00416-CV
