News Release
For Immediate Release: 10.15.24
Contact: John Manning, media@firstliberty.org
Direct: 972-941-4454
Fired California Fire Chief Appeals to U.S. Supreme Court
The City of Stockton illegally terminated fire chief’s employment for attending nationally known leadership conference hosted by a church.
San Francisco, CA—Today, First Liberty Institute, Baker Botts L.L.P., and the Church State Council asked the Supreme Court of the United States to review a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that sided with the City of Stockton in firing former fire chief Ron Hittle. Fire Chief Hittle was wrongfully terminated for attending a leadership conference hosted at a church.
You can read the petition here.
“It is a tragic day for religious liberty in America when someone can be fired because they attend an event that includes religious perspectives,” said Stephanie Taub, Senior Counsel at First Liberty Institute. “The city showed extreme anti-religious bias and broke the law when it fired Chief Hittle. We are asking the Supreme Court to reverse the lower court’s decision and uphold the clear meaning of Title VII to protect all Americans in the workplace.”
“City of Stockton officials were completely intolerant of Chief Hittle’s religious beliefs,” said Aaron Streett of Baker Botts. “Federal law protects the freedom of every American to live without fear of being fired simply because of their beliefs.”
“Chief Ron Hittle was an exemplary leader of the Stockton Fire Department who was fired because of his Christian faith,” said Alan Reinach of the Church State Council. “But to make matters worse, the courts reversed the evidentiary assumptions and chose to believe Stockton’s denial that it did not discriminate, instead of focusing on the abundant evidence Chief Hittle supplied.”
The city of Stockton, California fired Chief Hittle after 24 years of service because he attended a leadership conference hosted at a church. Although the city requested Chief Hittle attend a leadership training course of his choice, it later opened an investigation after he attended Willow Creek Church’s Global Leadership Summit, a world-class conference with speakers from a variety of religious and non-religious backgrounds. Past speakers have included Facebook’s COO Sheryl Sandberg and former President Bill Clinton. The city listed Chief Hittle’s attendance at a “religious event” while on duty as the primary reason for his termination. Chief Hittle sued, but in March 2022, a district court sided with the city.
According to the petition filed with the Supreme Court, “This petition raises issues of great jurisprudential and practical import. Especially as currently applied, the McDonnell Douglas framework is preventing meritorious employment-discrimination cases from reaching a jury. When plaintiffs have presented evidence that creates a fact issue regarding whether they were discriminated against, they should be permitted to try their case to a jury, period. That is how it works in virtually every other context. There is no reason that plaintiffs in Title VII cases should face the added burden of disproving the employer’s proffered reason for the adverse employment decision. Yet that errant and nontextual view holds sway in nearly half the country and is causing demonstrable injustices for worthy plaintiffs.
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About First Liberty Institute
First Liberty Institute is a non-profit public interest law firm and the largest legal organization in the nation dedicated exclusively to defending religious freedom for all Americans.
To arrange an interview, contact John Manning at media@firstliberty.org or by calling 972-941-4454.
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