HOUSTON – A Harris County constable has been named in an ex-employee’s wrongful termination lawsuit.
Radha Patel alleges in court documents filed on Sept. 11 in the Harris County 11th District Court that Harris County Precinct 6 Constable Sylvia Trevino fired her because she opposed the defendant’s purportedly discriminatory employment practices.
Formerly employed as a deputy constable under Trevino from Jan. 1, 2017 to about three months ago, Patel claims the respondent told her not to hire non-Hispanics or Muslims.
The original petition further asserts that Trevino, whose husband held the same office until he was deposed for felony theft in 2014, allowed her spouse to be involved in precinct business though it violated the terms of his decade-long probation.
Patel unsuccessfully tried to have Trevino curb her pro-Hispanic hiring policies, as well as bar her husband from precinct property, the complaint says.
The plaintiff reported Trevino’s conduct, for which she was reportedly terminated at the beginning of last June.
Court papers further refute the respondent’s allegations that Patel violated what they label as “some non-existent General Order” prior to her firing. According to the complainant, her ex-boss’s “bad conduct” caused her to suffer a cerebral stroke.
Trevino is believed to have replaced Patel with a friend of her husband’s. She is additionally accused of hacking the plaintiff’s email and Facebook accounts.
Consequently, Patel seeks the reinstatement of her position, unspecified monetary damages, and a jury trial.
Larry Watts of the law firm Watts & Company in Missouri City serves as Patel’s lead counsel.
Harris County 11th District Court Case No. 2018-61935