Ex-department head’s suit against county can advance
A lawsuit filed by a former Harris County department head against the county is moving forward after a district court judge on Monday denied a request to dismiss the case.
Rick Noriega, Harris County’s former executive director of information technology, was fired in May 2023 when county officials said he refused to complete mandatory sexual harassment training. A county employee in December 2022 had filed a sexual harassment complaint against Noriega, prompting the training requirement.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo announced the personnel decision, without naming Noriega, during a news conference last May. “The types of behaviors that perhaps may have gone unnoticed in the past in the county in a ‘good old boy’ culture are no longer going to be allowed,” Hidalgo said.
Hidalgo’s remarks featured prominently in Noriega’s lawsuit.
“Noriega demanded that Judge Hidalgo correct her false statements and issue a public apology. Judge Hidalgo ignored that demand. And the County has done nothing to otherwise clear Noriega’s good name,” the lawsuit said.
Hidalgo’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Noriega also alleged he had been “falsely and maliciously accused” of sexual harassment, claiming the complaint against him had been filed in retaliation after he had disciplined the accuser’s husband, who worked for Noriega.
“In other words, this complaint of ‘sexual harassment’ was payback,” the lawsuit said.
Noriega described the harassment incident as a “hug and a peck on the cheek or forehead,” which “no reasonable person” would describe as sexual harassment.
Now Noriega is suing for protection under the Texas Whistleblower Act, claiming that he was fired after he reported his accuser for violating county policies by making a false and malicious complaint.
Harris County’s defense attorneys said on Monday the Texas Whistleblower Act doesn’t apply in Noriega’s case, arguing that the former department head can’t sue Harris County over the enforcement of its own personnel policies since they’re internal policies — not laws.
However, Noriega’s attorneys claimed that because Commissioners Court approves the county’s personnel policies, they are effectively laws.
133rd District Court Judge Jaclanel McFarland denied the county’s request to dismiss the case, though she did not offer an explanation for her reasoning. The county could appeal that decision.
Noriega is represented by attorney Rusty Hardin, while the county has hired Norton Rose Fulbright.