Options if the deadline for recovering back wages through the Texas Workforce Commission has passed?

I live in Texas and worked for a company that contracts all of its employees through a company based in California. Although I worked for the Texas company, from a legal standpoint all employees were employed by the California based firm. The company eliminated my position in January of 2015. At the time I had accrued nearly $10K in PTO.

Shortly after my termination I was informed by the Texas Workforce Commission that under Texas law I could not collect pay for unused PTO. Today, 11 months later, I learned that I was misinformed by the TWFC rep. and that PTO is a collectible back wage in Texas. However, the limit to file for a claim was within 180 day of termination.

Can I still file a private civil claim? Can I file a claim in California? Or, is there any other remedies or recourse available? Thanks in advance for your feedback.