by Jorge Gomez • 2 minutes
This week, First Liberty appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court our case involving Fire Chief Ron Hittle, who was fired for attending a leadership conference hosted at a church.
We’re asking the Supreme Court to hear the case and reverse a decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that sided with the City of Stockton, California in firing Chief Hittle. We’re also asking the nation’s highest court to uphold the clear meaning of Title VII to protect all Americans in the workplace.
Chief Hittle served Stockton for 24 years. Before becoming Fire Chief, he protected the lives and property of his community as a firefighter.
In 2010, Chief Hittle’s boss asked him to attend leadership training. He chose the Willow Creek Global Leadership Summit, a renowned seminar with world-class speakers of various backgrounds and worldviews. He invited three staff members to join him, and he put his attendance on the city calendar so his supervisors would be aware. Stockton was facing a budget deficit, and the firefighters paid with their own funds.
Chief Hittle told his supervisors it was the best leadership training he’d ever attended and that it was highly beneficial for his career. But they said it was unacceptable that he attended a Christian-affiliated seminar.
It’s not every day that an employer makes clear it fired an employee because of his religious faith and activities. But that’s exactly what happened to Chief Hittle.
City leaders confronted him with a list of 10 “charges.” The first five were all related to his religious faith and activities. The city even admitted the primary reasons for his termination were his attendance at the “religious event” and allowing others to attend.
“I’ll drag your name through the mud,” the City Manager told Hittle, if he didn’t accept a demotion. They also threatened Chief Hittle with an investigation that would be “embarrassing for you and your family,” and even said “your reputation will suffer irreparable harm.” Another supervisor disparaged Hittle and other Christians in the office as a “Christian Coalition” and “church clique.”
After months of investigating, the city fired Chief Hittle. He sued for religious discrimination and has spent more than 10 years fighting through the federal courts. He’s faced numerous setbacks. But this Fire Chief isn’t giving up. And neither is First Liberty. We’re going to continue fighting until Chief Hittle’s rights are vindicated and the City of Stockton is held accountable for its discrimination.
“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. “The city showed extreme anti-religious bias and broke the law when it fired Chief Hittle.”
What happened to Chief Hittle was wrong. We’re taking this case to the Supreme Court because federal law protects against religious discrimination and harassment in the workplace. It’s illegal for an employer to fire or take adverse action employees based on their religion.
This case isn’t just about one firefighter, however. It impacts the rights and protections of every person in the workplace. In today’s cancel culture, many Americans are being forced to choose between their faith and their livelihood. Our nation’s laws protect people of faith so they should not have to face that choice. A win for Chief Hittle would be a win for millions of Americans.
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