Under Chapter 21, an Employer Does Not Have to State All the Reasons for an Employee's Termination in the Termination Letter

A recent case from the Second Court of Appeals (Fort Worth) clarified an aspect of termination many laypersons find irrational or unbelievable:

According to [the terminated employee], [the former employer]—and any employer accused of discriminatory termination—is legally bound by the explanation (or lack thereof) in its termination letter.

But [the terminated employee] has not cited—nor has this court found—any statute, rule, or precedent that limits the scope of an employer's Chapter 21 defense based on the breadth of the explanation the employer provided in its termination letter. And to the extent that she invites us to judicially create her proposed limitation, we decline to do so.

Univ. of Tex. at Arlington v. Shaw, No. 02-25-00587-CV, 2026 LX 242470, at *15 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth May 21, 2026, no pet. h.). Succinctly, when an employee is fired, the employer does not have to give an exhaustive list of the reasons it decided to fire an employee. This case is consistent with the fact that employers generally do not have to produce or explain its rationale to an employee for terminating said employee. To many employees, this feels fundamentally unfair or unlawful. While likely unfair (and indeed inconsiderate), it is certainly lawful in most at-will employment contexts.

Consequently, if a person feels that her termination of employment was unlawful despite the reasons given by her employer, she certainly should discuss any concerns she has with a licensed Texas employment attorney. It could be the case that the stated and anticipated reasons for the termination are pretextual, which may potentially create legal liability for the employer.

If you believe some aspect of your termination to be unlawful, please schedule a consultation today. Consultations are completely confidential. Do not rely on this post as legal advice. This post does not create an attorney-client relationship between the firm and the reader. Do not act in reliance on the contents of this post without seeking the advice of counsel.