An unidentified woman accused Glenn Hamer, president and CEO of the Texas Association of Business, of sexually harassing and assaulting her before retaliating against her through his perch atop the powerful business group when she rejected his overtures, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in Travis County.
The woman, identified in her court filing as “Jane Doe,” was described on social media by her attorney, Tony Buzbee, as the founder and executive director of Texas Venture Alliance, an advocacy group for startups and entrepreneurs. She is seeking more than $10 million in damages.
The lawsuit alleges that Hamer pursued the woman using his status as head of the Texas Association of Business, or TAB, offering to help advance the woman’s advocacy group and connect her with important people. Hamer also serves as chairman of the Texas Venture Alliance, according to the group’s website, and the two organizations partnered in September 2024 to launch an initiative promoting entrepreneurship in Texas.
In a statement, TAB Board of Directors Chair Bill Jones said the organization was aware of the lawsuit and was putting Hamer on administrative leave “while it conducts a full internal investigation.” Jones added that Megan Mauro, TAB’s vice president and chief of staff, would serve as the group’s interim CEO.
In a 13-page filing, the unidentified woman’s lawyers cast Hamer as the latest in a long line of “unscrupulous men in power” who “have attempted to improperly use that power to coerce those with less power to get what they want.”
“In this matter, the prime perpetrator used his vaunted and respected status to engage in a sexual relationship with a much younger woman by offering incentives available to him by virtue of his position,” the lawsuit continues. “When she at some point refused his advances, he coerced, begged, harassed and ultimately assaulted her.”
Hamer did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
The legal filing also names TAB as a defendant, arguing that the group was “vicariously liable” for Hamer’s actions by allowing him to remain in his position as CEO despite “knowledge of his prior behavior and complaints,” and by failing to adopt policies to prevent such actions.
The Texas Association of Business is among Texas’ most influential business groups, serving as the state’s de facto chamber of commerce and routinely lobbying members of the Legislature on a wide array of business issues.
Hamer often appears alongside the state’s top leaders at public functions; just last week, he moderated a “fireside chat” with Gov. Greg Abbott, during which the two discussed Texas’ economic future and TAB gave Abbott an award.
Spokespersons for the state’s top three elected officials — Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows — did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegations leveled against Hamer.
The lawsuit alleges that Hamer “groomed” the unidentified woman and entered into a relationship with her beginning in 2022. He then “began to view Doe not as a colleague or someone working alongside him with similar goals for Texas, but as someone he could manipulate for his personal pleasure,” the filing says.
Hamer sexually assaulted and harassed the woman multiple times, the lawsuit alleges, including in May by attempting to remove her pants and “mount” her. When the woman pushed him away and left the room, the lawsuit states that Hamer “followed. He would not stop.” Hamer later apologized, according to the lawsuit, telling the woman that he was “disgusted with himself” and offering to go to an ATM to give her money so she would “forget about it.”
“She did not accept his monies; she did not forget,” the lawsuit continues.
Hamer is accused of making unsuccessful sexual advances on the woman on two other occasions after the May incident: in June in Denton, and in October in Washington.
When the woman rejected his overtures, the lawsuit states, Hamer launched a “smear campaign and actively tried to damage Doe’s reputation, credibility and professional relationships.”
“His message was clear; his intentions straightforward,” the lawsuit alleges. “If Doe would not give him what he wanted personally, he would use his status to make sure Doe did not advance professionally.”
Hamer allegedly retaliated against the woman by redirecting a planned donation to the Texas Venture Alliance from an unidentified “Texas organization,” ensuring the money was rerouted to other entities, including the Texas Association of Business. Hamer also helped form an “in-state competitor whose mission mirrored TVA,” then assisted that organization in competing for the same funding as TVA and “copied, stole and passed off Doe’s ideas and business plans” to the copycat group and to TAB, according to the lawsuit.
The filing also notes that the woman is TVA’s sole employee, and that her salary depends on the organization’s revenue and her boss — Hamer.
After the woman’s rejections, Hamer’s behavior turned into “sinister intimidation,” the lawsuit continues, accusing Hamer of “stalking Doe at conferences or events, following her in and out of hotels, following her throughout hotel hallways barefoot or in his pajamas and turning friends and business contacts against her.”
Aside from accompanying elected officials to public events, Hamer is a registered lobbyist who frequents the Capitol during legislative sessions, lending his support for or discouraging passage of proposed legislation.
This year, he testified in support of a measure — Senate Bill 30 — that sought to limit the amount of damages accident victims could claim. The bill died during the Legislature’s final hours, despite a lobbying campaign from TAB and other powerful business groups.
Survivors of sexual assault testified against the bill, saying that it would have made it more difficult for them to seek justice through compensation.
Under the first introduced version of SB 30, a trial court would have been required to provide the legal basis for compensation that exceeded a certain amount, if a defendant asked a judge to reduce the amount awarded by a jury. One of the thresholds was $250,000 for mental or emotional pain resulting from an event that caused someone personal injury, such as sexual assault.
The allegations of sexual misconduct are the latest to rock the Capitol. In 2023, Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, resigned on the eve of a Texas House vote to expel him after an investigation found that he had provided alcohol to a 19-year-old staffer before having sex with her.
Two years before that, a false date rape allegation cast fresh attention on a culture of sexual harassment under the Pink Dome. That culture was well-detailed in numerous media reports during the 2017 legislative session that led to reforms that the state’s elected leaders later acknowledged fell short.
Among the lawmakers accused of wrongdoing was Sen. Charles Schwertner, R-Georgetown, who gave up a committee leadership post after the University of Texas at Austin investigated allegations that he sent lewd messages and a sexually explicit photo to a graduate student. The university later said that evidence did “not support a finding” that Schwertner had violated Title IX by sending the messages.
Schwertner was once again elevated to hold a committee chair in 2021 and has since carried a number of major bills in the upper chamber. Among them was SB 30 — the personal injury lawsuit payouts cap.
Disclosure: Texas Association of Business has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.
Correction, Nov. 25, 2025, 3:08 p.m. Central:
A previous version of this story incorrectly characterized how Senate Bill 30 would have limited damages in personal injury cases where someone suffered emotional or mental pain. An initial version of the bill would have required a trial court to provide the legal basis for compensation exceeding $250,000 if a defendant asked a judge to reduce the damages awarded by a jury.
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