Supreme Court
Tex. Tech Univ. Health Scis. Ctr.-El Paso v. Flores
- Case number: 22-0940
- Legal category: Employment Law
- Subtype: Age Discrimination
- Set for oral argument: September 11, 2024
Case Summary
The issue in this case is whether the trial court should have granted Tech’s plea to the jurisdiction on the plaintiff’s age-discrimination claim.
Loretta Flores, age 59, applied to work as Chief of Staff for university president, Dr. Richard Lange. Lange, however, had personally encouraged Amy Sanchez, a 37-year-old Tech employee, to apply for the Chief of Staff position. Both candidates met the education and experience requirements and submitted all required application materials. Flores submitted an additional five letters of recommendation from her previous roles at Tech. Lange made mention of Flores’s age during her interview, although the parties dispute what was said. Lange ultimately hired Sanchez for the position.
Flores sued for age discrimination and retaliation. Tech filed a plea to the jurisdiction, which the trial court denied. The court of appeals reversed as to the retaliation claim but affirmed as to age discrimination, holding that a reasonable fact finder could conclude that Lange’s proffered reasons for not hiring Flores were pretextual and that age was at least a motivating factor in Tech’s decision not to select Flores for the Chief of Staff position.
Tech petitioned the Supreme Court for review, arguing that Flores did not meet the required showing that Tech’s proffered reason for denying Flores the position was both false and a pretext for discrimination. The Court granted Tech’s petition for review.
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