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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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The Austin City Council passed protections for gender-affirming care Thursday, only a few days after the state of Texas filed a lawsuit over Title IX changes granting protections for transgender people.

“Trans people deserve the right to self determination,” City Council member José “Chito” Vela, one of the sponsors of the resolution, said at a Thursday Austin City Council meeting.

“Our state has forced them and their medical providers into hiding, and that is wrong,” Vela continued. “Austin should not be a party to that anymore than we legally have to be.”

A draft of the resolution states that “except to the extent required by law, it is the policy of the City that no City personnel, funds, or resources shall be used to investigate, criminally prosecute, or impose administrative penalties upon” transgender and nonbinary people looking for health care or those who provide health care to transgender and nonbinary people.

The resolution’s passage comes shortly after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) sued the Biden administration over a final set of changes to Title IX, unveiled last month, that add protections for transgender students to the federal civil rights law on sex-based discrimination. The changes will take effect in early August.

“Texas will not allow Joe Biden to rewrite Title IX at whim, destroying legal protections for women in furtherance of his radical obsession with gender ideology,” Paxton said Monday in a news release.

Paxton also blasted the Austin resolution in a statement Thursday, saying it is “riddled with problems.”

“If the City of Austin refuses to follow the law and protect children, my office will consider every possible response to ensure compliance,” Paxton continued in the statement. “Texas municipalities do not have the authority to pick and choose which state laws they will or will not abide by. The people of Texas have spoken, and Austin City Council must listen.”

The Texas Supreme Court allowed a state law barring gender-affirming care for transgender youth to go into effect in August 2023, after a legal battle over the legislation.

Multiple tornadoes hit Texas on Thursday near Abilene, including one in Hawley that was caught on camera by storm chaser Russ Contreras.

“We’ve had multiple confirmed tornadoes this evening,” said the National Weather Service office in San Angelo on X Thursday evening. “Please stay weather aware and make sure you have a way to receive warnings!” The weather service also posted a map showing where the tornadoes hit.

The Hawley Independent School District said in a statement on Facebook that the “Hawley community has been hit pretty hard and we have several families that have lost homes.” The district said that while the school seems to have been spared major damage, there is “pretty substantial” flooding on the grounds.

The district also said that Friday will be a flex day for students, meaning the school will be open and on regular schedule for students that can attend, however attendance is not mandatory and will not be taken.

Photos of the Hawley, Texas tornado

San Jacinto River evacuation order

In the southeast portion of the state, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Thursday issued a disaster declaration and a mandatory evacuation for residents on the East Fork of the San Jacinto River in Houston during a news conference.

Hidalgo said residents must evacuate their homes because of high water risk and that they should leave as soon as possible. Officials said that section of the San Jacinto River is nearing 78 feet above sea level, which is about three feet below Hurricane Harvey water levels.

Some 24-hour rainfall totals exceeded seven inches in the region, reports FOX Weather, with storm totals over the past few days nearing about a foot.

Texas weather forecast for Friday and the weekend

The National Weather Service office in San Angelo said that severe weather potential continues in the area Friday with a marginal to slight risk of severe storms in the afternoon and evening.

“Large hail, damaging winds and even a tornado will again be possible,” the NWS said.

As for Saturday, the weather service said more widespread thunderstorms during the day and night will lead to “a chance for heavy rainfall across portions of West Central Texas, mainly across the Big Country and the Heartland.”

The NWS says the rainfall could be heavy enough to cause flash flooding of streets, creeks, streams, and other low-lying areas. Additionally, storms Saturday will pose the “greatest risk for very large hail greater than 2 inches in diameter.”

A Flood Watch is in effect in the Houston-Galveston area through Friday, with flooding being especially hazardous at night, the NWS said.

“Scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms continue today, mainly north of I-10 and east of I-45,” the NWS said Friday morning. “Heavy rainfall potential exists and could result in flash flooding. A few storms may become strong to severe with hail and strong gusts as the main risks,” the NWS said.

Texas severe weather watches and warnings

Here’s a look at a map of the watches and warnings across the state.

Texas power outage map

Nearly 30,000 power outages have been reported across Texas as of 6:40 a.m. local time Friday, according to a USA TODAY power outage tracker, including over 12,000 in Harris County.

Gabe Hauari is a national trending news reporter at USA TODAY. You can follow him on X @GabeHauari or email him at Gdhauari@gannett.com.