Justice Department sues Texas prisons alleging religious discrimination

The lawsuit says the state agency refused to make accommodations for an employee’s expression of her Ifa faith.The Texas Department of Criminal Justice denied an employee’s request to wear a religious head covering in violation of federal law, the U.S. Justice Department alleged in

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, alleges the department refused to make accommodations for Franches Spears’ expression of her Ifa faith, which is practiced among West African communities.“Employers cannot require employees to forfeit their religious beliefs or improperly question the sincerity of those beliefs,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

Soon after, the suit alleges, she was called to a human resources meeting and told the head covering violated the department’s “business-casual uniform and grooming standards.”When Spears declined to remove her head covering, Texas Department of Criminal Justice officials suspended her without pay, questioned her faith and ultimately terminated her employment, the lawsuit said.

Spears first turned to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for help on Feb. 21, 2020, according to the lawsuit. “The EEOC attempted to achieve resolution of this matter through conciliation, failed, and subsequently referred the Charge to the Department of Justice,” it reads.The Justice Department wants the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to implement lawful religious accommodation policies and compensate Spears for lost wages and other damages., Staff writer. Talia is a reporter for The Dallas Morning News Education Lab.

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