A Los Angeles County lifeguard is suing for religious discrimination and retaliation after he refused to raise a pride flag at his post during Pride Month.
The Christian lifeguard asked the LA fire department, which manages lifeguards in the county, to exempt him from raising the “Progress Pride Flag” (pictured) as required by a recent ordinance and his supervisor’s directives. The fire department has not granted his accommodation request, according to court filings.
Neither the LA fire department nor the individually named defendants responded to Legal Insurrection‘s request for a comment on the lawsuit.
With Pride Month fast approaching, lifeguard Captain Jeffrey Little filed for a temporary restraining order (TRO) on May 28, 2024, asking the court to issue an order barring enforcement of the ordinance and the department’s enforcement memorandum, EA-231, against him before June 1.
The presiding judge denied the TRO application because she wanted to know the outcome of a May 29 meeting between Little and his employer regarding a last-minute accommodation request before granting the TRO. The judge denied the application without prejudice, meaning Little may file again.
Legal Insurrection spoke with Paul Jonna, an attorney at the Thomas More Society representing Little. Jonna told Legal Insurrection he planned to refile the TRO application on June 4 with the additional information requested by the judge.
The challenged policy requires flying the pride flag at government facilities, including lifeguard stations, that fly both the American and California flags based on the number of flag poles and flag clasps available at the facilities. Some lifeguard stations fall outside the policy’s scope because of the number of poles and clasps present.
Last year, the fire department initially granted Little a religious exemption, but rescinded it the next day, according to the lawsuit. The exemption provided Little with several assurances:
(1) movement to a site not flying the Progress Pride Flag; (2) no requirement to raise the Progress Pride Flag; and (3) no requirement to ensure raising of the Progress Pride Flag.
Little was transferred last year to a lifeguard station initially not covered by the memorandum. However, the lawsuit alleges, Section Chief Arthur Lester visited Little’s new station and “modified the flagpoles to attempt to bring them within the ambit of EA-231, and then ordered the lifeguards at each subarea to raise Progress Pride Flags.”
Little arrived at his new post last year with a pride flag already flying, according to the complaint. He removed the pride flag at his new station, resulting in a direct order from Lester “to raise the Progress Pride Flag that he had lowered,” the complaint alleges. The complaint accuses Lester of being “abusive, inappropriate, harassing, and discriminatory” in his demeanor toward Little when delivering the order.
The next day, Lifeguard Division Chief Fernando Boiteux issued a direct written order to Little requiring him to comply with the policy. Boiteux personally delivered the order and, according to the complaint, exhibited a hostile demeanor.
Boiteux allegedly told Little his “religious beliefs do not matter” as “an LA County employee.” The complaint alleges Boiteux, who is a trained martial artist and more physically imposing than Little, “delivered his message to Captain Little in a violent and angry manner while standing over Captain Little.”
Jonna told Legal Insurrection that Boiteux’s behavior and disregard for Little’s beliefs caused Little emotional distress.
Little filed a religious discrimination complaint after his interaction with Boiteux, which allegedly resulted in retaliation, including “suspen[sion] from his role on the background investigation unit” of the fire department. This “result[ed] in a significant loss of overtime, income, and prestige.”
Little also “received . . . a death threat against himself and his children,” which appears as an exhibit in the complaint. The author included a threat to rape Little’s “cute little girls” if Little refused to “pay respect to our pride flag” and “honor us.”
Little again sought an exemption from the policy for the upcoming 2024 Pride Month but, according to the complaint, was unsuccessful.
The complaint makes nine claims under state and federal law, including for religious freedom and civil rights violations.
Little seeks damages for lost wages and emotional distress, reinstatement to his investigator position, and a permanent injunction barring the defendants from enforcing EA-231 against him.
A demand letter sent to the fire department on April 19, 2024, before the lawsuit’s filing, estimated Little’s damages up to that point at nearly $500,000, including lost wages and emotional distress.
UPDATE 6/5/24: Jonna filed a declaration this afternoon that claims the department is granting Little an accommodation for this June alone, removing the need for a TRO. Little still seeks a permanent injunction preventing enforcement of the policy for all future Pride Months. The filing reports a possible protest planned by Little’s fellow lifeguards with similar objections.
The complaint:
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