Taxpayer First Act Retaliation Attorney in Texas | Tax Whistleblower

Accountants, bookkeepers, controllers, and payroll staff are frequently the first to see tax fraud — unreported income, phantom deductions, payroll tax schemes. For years they reported it at their own risk. The Taxpayer First Act (TFA), 26 U.S.C. § 7623(d), changed that: it created a federal retaliation claim with one of the strongest damage provisions in whistleblower law, including 200 percent back pay. With 28 years of experience, employment attorney Jack Nichols represents finance and accounting professionals throughout Austin, Houston, San Antonio, and all of Texas. Call (512) 595-1269 for a free confidential consultation.

What Is Taxpayer First Act Retaliation?

The TFA makes it illegal for employers to discharge, demote, suspend, threaten, harass, or otherwise discriminate against an employee who:

• Provided information about suspected underpayment of tax or tax fraud to the IRS, the Treasury Department, or Congress
• Reported internally to a supervisor or any person with authority to investigate or stop the conduct
• Refused to sign or file returns believed to be false
• Objected to unremitted payroll taxes, falsified deductions, off-books cash income, or misclassification schemes designed to evade employment taxes
• Testified, assisted, or participated in an IRS proceeding or enforcement action

Who Is Protected Under the TFA?

Any employee can be protected, but the statute matters most to the people who touch the numbers: staff accountants and controllers, bookkeepers and payroll administrators, in-house tax preparers, CFOs and finance managers, and administrative employees who process the records that reveal a scheme. In small and mid-size Texas companies especially, the accountant who questions the owner’s returns is often shown the door within weeks — exactly what the TFA prohibits.

TFA Retaliation Across Texas — Austin, Houston, San Antonio, and Beyond

Our firm handles claims from finance and accounting workers throughout:

• Austin and Central Texas: Bookkeepers and controllers at fast-growing companies; payroll staff who object to misclassification; Travis, Williamson, and Hays county employees
• Houston and the Gulf Coast: Accounting staff in construction, oilfield services, and restaurants — cash-intensive industries where payroll tax fraud is a perennial problem
• San Antonio and South Texas: Finance employees at contractors and family businesses; Bexar, Comal, and Guadalupe county workers
• Dallas–Fort Worth and statewide: Corporate tax department staff and payroll professionals across every Texas industry

What TFA Retaliation Looks Like in Texas Workplaces

• Termination within weeks of questioning the company’s returns
• Demotion or stripped duties after refusing to file false returns
• Sudden discipline and threats after objecting to payroll tax practices
• Cut hours, pay, or constructive discharge after raising concerns

Filing Deadlines for Texas TFA Retaliation Claims

TFA complaints are filed with OSHA, which investigates and can refer the case to a Department of Labor administrative law judge. You must file within:

• 180 days — from the retaliatory action to file a complaint with OSHA

If the Department of Labor does not issue a final decision within 180 days, you may take your claim to federal district court and request a jury trial. The TFA uses the contributing-factor standard: you need only show your protected activity contributed to the adverse action, and the employer must then prove by clear and convincing evidence that it would have acted the same regardless.

What Damages Can a Texas Employee Recover? 200 Percent Back Pay

The TFA’s remedies are exceptional:

• Reinstatement with the same seniority
• 200 percent of back pay — double your lost wages — plus 100 percent of lost benefits, with interest
• Special damages, including litigation costs, expert fees, and reasonable attorney’s fees
• Uncapped compensatory damages such as emotional distress in appropriate cases

Separately, the IRS whistleblower award program can pay 15 to 30 percent of collected proceeds to individuals whose information leads to successful enforcement in larger cases. The retaliation claim and the award claim are independent — you may have both.

Frequently Asked Questions — Texas Taxpayer First Act Retaliation

I never contacted the IRS — I only told the owner the returns were wrong. Am I protected?

Yes. Internal reports to a supervisor or anyone with authority to investigate or correct the problem are protected under the TFA. Many strong TFA cases involve purely internal objections.

What does 200 percent back pay mean in practice?

If you prevail, you recover twice your lost wages, plus all lost benefits with interest — before any special or compensatory damages are added. It is one of the most generous remedy provisions in federal employment law.

I refused to file a return I believed was false and was fired. Is that protected?

Objecting to and refusing to participate in suspected tax fraud can be protected activity, and termination that follows closely in time is strong evidence under the contributing-factor standard.

Why Choose The Law Office of Jack Quentin Nichols, PLLC, as Your Texas TFA Retaliation Attorney

• 28 years experience
• Former attorney at the Texas Attorney General’s Office / Texas Workforce Commission
• Licensed in all four U.S. District Courts in Texas — Western (Austin and San Antonio Divisions), Southern (Houston Division), Northern, and Eastern Districts
• Member: State Bar of Texas Labor & Employment Section; Texas Employment Lawyers Association (TELA)
• Contingency fee basis — no fee unless we win
• Representing employees in Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, El Paso, Lubbock, Midland, Corpus Christi, McAllen, Laredo, and all of Texas