Texas
Feds accuse Texas prison agency of discriminating against employee for wearing a headscarf
:focal(0x0:3000x1657)/static.texastribune.org/media/files/99aca156e6bf021c048e3d43414a6e42/TDCJ_GURNEY_UNIT_MDN_TT?ssl=1 "Feds accuse Texas prison agency of discriminating against employee for wearing a headscarf")
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The U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit Friday accusing the Texas Department of Criminal Justice of discriminating against one of its former employees based on her religious beliefs.
The federal lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of Texas, alleges that the state agency denied Franches Spears religious accommodations by refusing to allow the non-uniformed employee to wear a head covering, according to court documents.
“Employers cannot require employees to forfeit their religious beliefs or improperly question the sincerity of those beliefs,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “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.”
The lawsuit alleges the Texas prison agency’s refusal to accommodate Spears’ religious practice violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
“TDCJ does not comment on pending litigation, but the agency respects the religious rights of all employees and inmates,” Hannah Haney, the agency’s deputy director of communications, told The Texas Tribune in a statement.
In July 2019, Spears was hired to work as a clerk at the Pam Lychner State Jail, a TDCJ facility in Humble, northeast of Houston.
In line with her Ifa beliefs, Spears began wearing a headscarf to work in September 2019. Ifa, a West African religion, dictates that some of its practitioners cover their “head with a head dressing during periods of religious ceremony, mourning, or to protect her spiritual power,” the complaint read.
Shortly after Spears began wearing the covering, she met with Human Resources Specialist Elizabeth Fisk to explain the religious significance behind the head dressing. According to the complaint, Fisk responded to Spears’ by saying, “Basically you just pray to a rock.”
Fisk told Spears that she could either remove her headscarf and continue working or go home until the agency decided on her religious accommodation request. TDCJ placed Spears on unpaid leave, according to court filings.
“TDCJ further questioned the sincerity of Spears’s faith when Bailey mailed a letter demanding documentation or a statement from a religious institution pointing to the specific Ifa belief or doctrine that supported the necessity of Spears’s head covering,” the complaint read, referring to testimony from TDCJ’s Religious Accommodation Coordinator Terry Bailey.
While TDCJ was considering Spears’ request for religious accommodation she received a “salary warrant letter” from the agency in November 2019. She understood the letter as a termination notice demanding the return of TDCJ property, like identification cards and keys, in order to receive her final paycheck.
In February 2020, Spears filed a complaint against TDCJ with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The federal agency found reasonable cause that TDCJ discriminated against Spears and attempted to resolve the issue through mediation. When that failed, the EEOC referred the case to the DOJ.
The complaint asks TDCJ to compensate Spears for lost wages and other damages related to the incident. Additionally, the Justice Department wants the Texas agency to institute religious accommodation policies.
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Texas
‘It just hurts’: Texas lawmaker speaks out after meeting with detained men who witnessed deadly ICE shooting | CNN
Saturday, July 11, 2026 11:10PM
This Week in Texas, we talk about the fatal shooting in Houston involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Our political insiders, Jacey Jetton and Shea Jordan Smith, offer their perspectives on that and the proposal from Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Gina Hinojosa to give every Texas household $1500 from the state’s rainy day fund.
Also, a report on big drainage money that the City of Galveston might have let slip through the cracks.
And a look at the intersection of politics and sports, This Week in Texas.
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A man in Texas, suspicious about his newly acquired truck, decided to take a look inside. To his surprise, he found a GPS tracker that was monitoring his every move. As expected, people online reacted as they normally do: a collective meltdown.
The man in question is none other than David Allen, also known as ToTouchAnEmu. He is a very popular content creator who has over 9.8 million followers on TikTok alone.
And while he shares a wide variety of content, one of his latest videos addresses this apparent breach of privacy. He detailed how he was surprised and overwhelmed as he went through the terms and conditions after purchasing his new truck.
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His dealer had signed him up and paid for a one-year subscription to CarRx, a platform and mobile app that monitors vehicles’ data. David, however, was not too thrilled to find out exactly what that meant.
Tracking Everything
For starters, he showed that, under the terms and conditions, CarRx would sell all collected information to third parties. David was not too worried about that.
Instead, he showed all the data that the platform collects from vehicles. Understandably, he was shocked.
Monitored information includes the car’s VIN, mileage, oil and battery status, fuel, and charging history. The platform can also track a vehicle’s location, speed, crash detection alerts, braking events, and even camera image and sensor data.
Finding the Tracker
David, still astounded by the revelation, knew that something was fishy. He asked, “I start thinking, how do they know all that information about my car if they don’t have some sort of GPS tracker on it?”
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And to no one’s surprise, and thanks to a Google search, it turns out that there was, in fact, a tracker installed in David’s truck. And not willing to let it slide, the man got to work immediately.
The Texas man searched for the tracker near the OBD port. He noticed a Y-cable right below it and found the tracker connected to it. The tracker had an IMEI, meaning that it had a SIM card in it, so tracking is pretty much a guarantee.
Viewers React Accordingly
Of course, David’s video caused a multitude of reactions. Some took issue with how he labeled his SUV a truck, but most viewers were worried about their privacy.
“We need data privacy laws stat!” one said. Another one commented, “This isn’t new, unfortunately. I used to work for GM; they track everything. In real time.”
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The latter comment seemed to echo the majority of reactions. Other users, former car dealership employees themselves, said the exact same thing.
If you want more stories like this, follow Guessing Headlights on Yahoo so you don’t miss what’s coming next.
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