Today, First Liberty, along with our friends at Baker Botts LLP and the Church State Council, asked a federal appeals court to reverse a decision that allowed the city of Stockton California Fire Department to dismiss fire chief Ron Hittle for attending a leadership conference held at a church.

The brief, filed at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, highlights the discriminatory response that the city of Stockton had to Hittle’s attendance at Willow Creek Church’s Global Leadership Summit, a world-class conference.

Although the city requested Hittle attend a leadership training course, it later opened an investigation when he attended one that happened to be hosted by a church.

Speakers in attendance included a variety of religious and non-religious backgrounds, such as:

• Jack Welch, former CEO of General Electric
• Terri Kelly, president and CEO of W.L. Gore and Associates
• Tony Dungy, winning coach of 2007 Super Bowl
• Zhao Xiao, Ph.D., leading Chinese economist

In the past, other prominent speakers for this conference also included Sheryl Sandberg of Facebook and former President Bill Clinton.

After 24 years of faithful service, Fire Chief Ron Hittle was fired because of his attendance at this alleged “religious event” while on duty. Hittle sued, but in March of this year, a federal district court sided with the city.

Clearly, city officials overreacted and targeted Hittle. There were steps short of termination that the city could have taken, such as requesting that his attendance be charged as personal leave. In fact, others who attended the Summit with Hittle were allowed this accommodation rather than being fired.

People of faith like Ron Hittle should not lose their job because of religious bigotry by government officials. In fact, federal law protects all Americans' rights to live and work according to their beliefs.

Yet, the Stockton Fire Department’s drastic course of action against Ron Hittle highlights the intolerance and discrimination that people of faith continue to experience at work.

That’s why First Liberty is committed to fighting for Fire Chief Ron Hittle along with the countless others who are being discriminated against in the workplace because of their beliefs.