Captain Jeffery Little, who is a Christian and a lifeguard, is suing the Los Angeles County Fire Department for illegal religious discrimination, retaliation, and harassment after he declined on religious grounds to raise the “Progress Pride Flag” at his beachside station last year. Little, a 22-year county employee, alleges the Los Angeles County Fire Department denied his religious accommodation request, belittled his religious beliefs, punished him, and threatened him with “suspension and/or discharge” from service for not complying with a county mandate to fly the flag during the month of June 2023.
In March 2023, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors enacted a resolution requiring county facilities, including fire department lifeguard stations, to fly the “pride flag” featuring the rainbow of six colors with additional diagonal stripes representing different races and gender-confused individuals.
According to his recently filed complaint, Little “adheres to traditional Christian beliefs regarding the moral illicitness of same-sex activity, the immutability of sex regardless of gender identity, and the view that all people are children of God regardless of their skin color.” Little requested a simple religious exemption from personally raising the flag himself. He explained in his exemption request that the flag represents controversial views on human sexuality, marriage, and family that are in “direct conflict” with his “sincerely held religious beliefs.”
The complaint’s details allege the fire department initially granted his religious accommodation request but quickly rescinded it the next day and he was ordered to raise the flag provided to his station. Citing his religious beliefs, Little refused only to have his division chief tell him, “Your religious beliefs do not matter” because “you are an L.A. County employee.”
The complaint summarized the chain of events that followed.
“Almost immediately after, various Fire Department personnel retaliated against Plaintiff Little, by angrily confronting him and ordering him to raise the Progress Pride Flag, by removing him from his role on the background investigation unit, by filing pretextual complaints against him, and informing third parties of his religious accommodation request—leading to a death threat being mailed to his home.” Little also had to use all his vacation time to avoid raising the flag. In addition, Little sought another religious accommodation for June 2024 which has been “essentially ignored.”
The nonprofit Thomas More Society represents Little and states these acts of “blatant religious discrimination” are “in violation of the U.S. Constitution, as well as state and federal civil rights law.”
The Thomas More Society alleges the fire county’s actions “were done with malice, fraud, oppression, and reckless disregard of Plaintiff Little’s rights.” The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages and a permanent injunction against the Los Angeles County Fire Department to uphold Little’s protected rights.
Liberty Counsel is providing religious accommodation resources to many Los Angeles County firefighters.
Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “Religious beliefs matter. The Los Angeles County Fire Department makes a mockery of both the law and religion by blatantly infringing on Captain Jeffery Little’s sincerely held beliefs. There is no compelling government interest in this case to force someone to raise an ideologically divisive flag. People do not have to choose between their faith or their job.
