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Feds accuse Texas prison agency of discriminating against employee for wearing a headscarf

Published

8 months ago

May 3, 2024

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

Hazardous road conditions expected as North Texas snow event ends Friday morning

Published

5 hours ago

January 10, 2025

Press Room

Hazardous road conditions expected as North Texas snow event ends Friday morning

North Texans brace for icy roads after snow and rain

04:22

NORTH TEXAS – This week’s snow event will end with a “few flurries” during Friday’s morning commute, according to CBS News Texas meteorologist Jeff Ray.

“But roads will have frozen over,” Ray said.

Expect hazardous road conditions in the morning, as it will be “the worst” the roads have been since the event started on Thursday morning, Ray said.

Late in the morning, temperatures will rise above freezing, which will “help drivers get around the Metroplex,” Ray said.

A cold front is expected Friday, he said.

“We are going to have wind chills in the 20s all day,” Ray said. “By nightfall on Friday, temperatures will drop quickly and water will re-freeze on the roads across the evening. This ice will remain until mid-morning on Saturday before the sun and warmer temperatures in the mid-40s clear the roadways.”

CBS News Texas will continue to provide updates as information becomes available.

Doug Myers

Doug Myers is a digital content producer for CBS Texas. A longtime journalist, Doug has worked for four newspapers in Texas and Louisiana and for three television stations in Texas. He has also spent time as a digital content manager for a national trade association and as communications director for a state agency.

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Hazardous travel expected as ice covers roads overnight in North Texas

Published

13 hours ago

January 9, 2025

Press Room

Hazardous travel expected as ice covers roads overnight in North Texas – CBS Texas

Watch CBS News

Road conditions will worsen Thursday night as rain, sleet and snow freeze over in North Texas. By Friday morning, ice will make travel hazardous, especially on untreated side roads.

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South Carolina women's basketball: Five Things to Watch – Texas A&M

Published

21 hours ago

January 9, 2025

Press Room

South Carolina women's basketball: Five Things to Watch – Texas A&M

South Carolina women’s basketball hosts its SEC home opener against Texas A&M on Thursday evening. Here’s how to watch and what to watch for.

1. Missing Ashlyn

South Carolina announced on Tuesday that junior forward Ashlyn Watkins will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Staley let Watkins tell the team about her injury, and then the coaches have tried to push forward.

“We just keep it moving, try not to harp on it too much because it’s felt,” Staley said. “The more you move on, the more they move on – and our players have to move on. It’s a part of it.”

I broke down how South Carolina will try to replace Watkins here.

Staley said, “Only time will tell” the impact of Watkins’ absence, but it is definitely an opportunity for Maryam Dauda, Adhel Tac, and Sakima Walker to step into a new role.

“Sometimes, when you remove someone as big as Ashlyn from your equation, other people have an opportunity,” Staley said. “And what they do with that opportunity, usually, they do something pretty good with it. We’ll work with them, and we’ll be patient with them.”

2. Spurtability

South Carolina’s strengths this season have been its bench and its transition game. In the first two SEC games, South Carolina pulled away with the second unit on the court getting stops and getting out in transition.

Watkins, with her ability to rim run with or without the ball, was a huge part of that. Her absence isn’t going to stop the Gamecocks from running, especially at home. Even without Watkins, the Gamecocks had 15 fast break points on Sunday.

That quick-strike ability has Texas A&M coach Jni Taylor worried.

“We have a saying around here that says, ‘before you know it,’” Taylor said. “If you keep doing the right thing, keep putting your head down, keep grinding, you look up and before you know it, you’ll be where you’re supposed to be. Likewise, if you don’t come out ready, if you are pouting, if you are feeling sorry for yourself, before you know it, you won’t be where you’re supposed to be. That’s one of those things at South Carolina. They’re a really good team. They play really well at home. We will be, flashback of last year here, we’ll be down 15 to zero before we can bat an eye if we don’t come out ready to go.”

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3. (Dress rehearsal)

Nobody is going to say it out loud, but Thursday’s game is an important tune-up for the Sunday showdown against no. 5 Texas.

Is Tac ready to battle Kyla Oldacre? Can Dauda’s shooting pull Oldacre away from the paint? Is there enough rim protection to keep Rori Harmon from getting easy layups, or do they need to get creative? Who should guard Madison Booker?

It’s a familiar refrain in these parts. Get the game in hand early so you have the fourth quarter to look at some different lineups.

“We let our players play through some stuff, and then you’ve got to look at the scoreboard,” Staley said. “If we’re holding serve on the scoreboard, and we’re up, more lenient to leave them out there to give them some minutes. But, if the scoreboard moves in an unfavorable way, then you got to get combinations out there that’s going to move it the opposite way.”

Texas hosts no. 18 Alabama on Thursday night, so the Longhorns can’t afford to look ahead. But we can.

[USC-Texas WBB: Win tickets, parking]

4. Availability report

Maddy McDaniel and Sakima Walker were both listed as OUT on the Wednesday evening Availability Report.

McDaniel has not played since the holiday break after suffering a concussion. Walker has not played since the Iowa State game and hasn’t been available since the TCU game with an ankle injury. Both have started participating in practice this week but obviously are not yet full-speed.

Vanessa Saidu is listed as OUT for Texas A&M. She has yet to play this season. Amirah Abdur-Rahim is listed as questionable.

Side note: Because Watkins has been declared out for the season, she is not included on the availability report.

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5. Scouting the Aggies

The Aggies are one of the three SEC teams that haven’t reached 10 wins yet. There are a lot of good players on the roster – anyone in the country would take Lauren Ware, Sahara Jones, and Janae Kent – plus a great scorer in Aicha Coulibaly, but the sum of the parts hasn’t been quite where it needs to be.

However, Texas A&M is coming off an upset of then-25th-ranked Ole Miss on Sunday. The win was a 60-58 rock fight in which Ole Miss shot 0-12 in the fourth quarter, but that fits Joni Taylor’s defensive mindset.

‘I think that we’ve been able to show really good spurts defensively of how we can impact the game,” Taylor said. “To hold Ole Miss or any team, for that matter, without a field goal in the fourth quarter is really impressive, and I think it just shows, again, what we are capable of.”

Coulibaly has been a thorn in the Gamecocks’ side before. She scored 32 points and grabbed six rebounds against the Gamecocks in the SEC tournament quarterfinals last season. Coulibaly had no problem getting to the basket and drawing fouls, going 13-15 from the line. And that was with Watkins and Kamilla Cardoso guarding the rim.

“Coulibaly is the one that we haven’t solved playing against her,” Staley said. “I do think they’re better. They’re playing more cohesive. They’ve got some bigs that do what bigs do. They have guards that are a year older, some transfers that have played in our league, so … formidable. And then, they’re coming off a big win against Ole Miss.”

Texas A&M freshman Taliyah Parker was a high school teammate of Tac’s at South Grand Prairie. Parker has appeared in all 14 games this season and averages 5.3 points and 2.4 rebounds.

The Ws
Who: #1 South Carolina (14-1, 2-0) vs Texas A&M (8-6, 1-1)
When: 5:00 EST, Thursday, January 9
Where: Colonial Life Arena, Columbia, SC
Watch: ESPN2

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