Justice Department Sues Texas Department of Criminal Justice for Religious Discrimination

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) for denying an employee’s religious accommodation request to wear a head covering as an expression of her Ifa faith. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, alleges that TDCJ’s refusal to accommodate the employee’s religious practice violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII).

“Employers cannot require employees to forfeit their religious beliefs or improperly question the sincerity of those beliefs,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This lawsuit is a reminder to all employers of their clear legal obligation to offer reasonable religious accommodations. In our country, employers cannot force an employee to choose between their faith and their job.” 

“Religious discrimination in the workplace will not be tolerated in our district,” said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani for the Southern District of Texas. “TDCJ, like any other employer, must reasonably accommodate employees under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”

The department’s complaint alleges that Franches Spears, who worked as a non-uniformed clerk in an administrative building, requested to wear a head covering in accordance with the tenets of her religion. The complaint alleges that even though TDCJ allowed other employees to wear hats and other non-religious head coverings and could have accommodated Spears’ request it refused to do so. Instead, TDCJ indefinitely suspended Spears without pay when she would not remove her head covering, impermissibly questioned the sincerity of her faith and ultimately terminated her employment.   

The department’s lawsuit seeks to require TDCJ to implement lawful religious accommodation policies and compensate Spears for lost wages and other damages.

Title VII is a federal law that prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex and religion. Title VII also prohibits retaliation against employees who have made a charge, or assisted or participated in an investigation, proceeding or hearing under Title VII. Employees with complaints of religious discrimination or retaliation can report them to their local Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) office or their state or local fair employment practices agencies. The contact information for each local EEOC office can be found at www.eeoc.gov/field-office.

The full and fair enforcement of Title VII is a top priority of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. More information about the Civil Rights Division and its work can be found at www.justice.gov/crt and www.justice.gov/crt/employment-litigation-section.

Trial Attorneys Vendarryl Jenkins and Cheyenne Chambers of the Civil Rights Division’s Employment Litigation Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Karpati for the Southern District of Texas are handling the case.