SCOTUS Denies Religious Discrimination Appeal

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied an appeal from a California fire chief who said he was fired for his religious convictions. An earlier case ruling from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which also denied the claim, is allowed to stand.

Fire Chief Ron Hittle, a 24-year veteran with the fire department in Stockton, California, filed suit claimed the city fired him after he attended a Christian leadership conference.

First Liberty Institute represented Hittle and said in a post that Hittle had been told to improve his management skills, but the city failed to specify how. 

First Liberty said Hittle picked a leadership seminar presented by a faith-based group. The Institute said that tipped the scale, as Hittle was told "attending a Christian seminar was unacceptable. His superiors opened a months-long investigation, belittled his beliefs, treated him like a criminal and eventually fired him."

The case asked the high court to disallow a precedent-setting decision from the 1970s that established a complicated process courts must use to evaluate claims of discrimination.

Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch dissented from the majority justices ruling against the appeal. Thomas and Gorsuch wrote in their case opinion, "Hittle presented 'ample' evidence of discriminatory intent on the part of those who decided to terminate him."

First Liberty said failure to disallow a confusing set of standards to determine employer discrimination makes it easier for Americans to be fired for their religious beliefs.

"Discriminating against and firing employees because of their religion is illegal in America. That's why we're fighting for Chief Hittle," the organization said.

• SCOTUS Mulls Reviving Woman's Reverse Discrimination Suit
• Apple Shareholders Keep a Tight Grip on DEI Policies