The Biden administration sued the Texas Department of Criminal Justice on Friday, alleging the state agency discriminated against an employee after refusing to allow her to wear a head covering as part of her religious practice.
The civil lawsuit alleges the employee, Franches Spears, was first placed on leave without pay and later terminated after she wore a head scarf 鈥渋n accordance with her Ifa religious beliefs and practices.鈥� Spears was a records clerk within the agency鈥檚 Pam Lychner State Jail in Humble.
鈥淓mployers cannot require employees to forfeit their religious beliefs or improperly question the sincerity of those beliefs,鈥� U.S. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a . 鈥淭his lawsuit is a reminder to all employers of their clear legal obligation to offer reasonable religious accommodations.鈥�
鈥淚n our country, employers cannot force an employee to choose between their faith and their job,鈥� said Clarke.
The alleges that Spears began wearing a head scarf in September 2019. She did so for about a month without incident before being sent to the agency鈥檚 human resources office. There she was told the attire violated the TDCJ鈥檚 鈥渂usiness-casual uniform and grooming standards for non-uniformed employees.鈥�
The Ifa religion has been practiced for thousands of years and is part of the culture of Nigeria鈥檚 Yoruba communities, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO.
鈥淭he Ifa divination system, which makes use of an extensive corpus of texts and mathematical formulas, is practiced among Yoruba communities and by the African diaspora in the Americas and the Caribbean,鈥� UNESCO explains.
When Spears explained the concept to her superiors, human resources employee Elizabeth Fisk reportedly said, 鈥淏asically you just pray to a rock鈥� according to the complaint.
Spears was later told to fill out the agency鈥檚 Religious Accommodation Form but was warned that her application would possibly never be approved.
鈥淪pears felt compelled to adhere to the tenets of her faith and declined to remove her head covering to continue working. As a result, TDCJ placed her on indefinite unpaid leave,鈥� the complaint states.
Spears was later placed on unpaid leave as the department considered her application. She was eventually sent a notice to turn in her state-owned equipment to receive her final paycheck.
The DOJ lawsuit seeks damages for pain and suffering and all lost wages and applicable interest. It also seeks a permanent injunction to prevent TDCJ from engaging in religious discrimination and for the agency to adopt policies to ensure a non-discriminatory workplace.
In a statement to The Texas Newsroom, a TDCJ spokesperson said the agency does not comment on pending litigation but 鈥渞espects the religious rights of all employees and inmates.鈥�