Los Angeles County just told a Christian fire captain his religious beliefs didn't matter – because he was a county employee.
Now a second LA County employee is fighting back, and what officials told him is even worse.
A 24-year veteran engineer just sued the county for what it did to his faith – and the answer they gave him should make your blood boil.
The Humiliation LA County Called an Accommodation
Eric Batman has spent 24 years as a civil engineer for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works – promoted to senior civil engineer in 2015, with an "exemplary" record throughout his career.
His request was simple: let him work from home during June, when the county flies the so-called Progress Pride flag from the front of his building in Alhambra.
Batman's faith holds that homosexuality is sinful. His Bible tells him he cannot celebrate what the flag represents.
The county said no.
Then they offered him two alternatives. Use the back entrance. Or seek mental health counseling.
That's right. Los Angeles County told a 24-year employee with an exemplary record that his Christian beliefs about human sexuality might require therapy.
The Legal Knockout LA County Walked Into
Liberty Counsel – the evangelical legal group representing Batman – didn't just file a lawsuit. They handed the county a legal problem it may not be able to escape.
The Supreme Court already settled this question. In the unanimous 2023 ruling in Groff v. DeJoy, the justices dismantled the old standard that let employers brush aside religious accommodation requests for nearly 50 years. Under the new rule, an employer must prove that granting the accommodation would result in substantially increased costs to its business.
Working from home for one month. For one employee who already works part-time remotely.
LA County would be hard-pressed to argue that costs them anything – let alone substantially.
Liberty Counsel Chairman Mat Staver said the government cannot force citizens to choose between their faith and their paycheck. That's not just a moral argument – under Groff, it's the law.
Batman's lawyers noted the county has accommodated other religious employees for observances including Ramadan. The county made its own case against itself – it already proved accommodations are possible. It simply chose not to extend that same respect to a Christian.
What LA County Gets Wrong About Its Own Policy
The county's Board of Supervisors passed the Pride flag mandate in 2023, citing challenges LGBT residents face in healthcare and housing.
Batman isn't asking the county to take the flag down. He isn't protesting, and he isn't demanding policy changes for anyone else. He is asking for one month of remote work – something the county already granted him in 2023 during building construction.
Instead, officials told him their "inclusive and welcoming environment for all" left no room for his faith.
A policy sold as inclusion explicitly excluded a 24-year employee's religion.
The pattern here is the story. An LA County fire captain – Jeffrey Little – sued in 2024 after a superior told him directly that his religious beliefs did not matter because he was a county employee. The county fought him for over a year before granting only a partial exemption under legal pressure.
LA County doesn't accommodate Christian employees. It waits to get sued and then gives ground as slowly as possible.
LA County Has a Losing Hand
Batman is asking for a court order declaring the county violated his rights, plus unspecified damages.
The Supreme Court already rebuilt the legal framework in his favor. The county already gave him remote work once before. The county already accommodates other religious employees. And officials left a paper trail of hostility toward his faith – advising him that his Christian beliefs might require mental health treatment.
That is the record of a bureaucracy that decided one faith deserves protection and another deserves therapy.
Eric Batman spent 24 years serving Los Angeles County with an exemplary record. The county's answer to his faith was to point him to the back door.
A federal court is about to tell LA County what the back door is really for.
Sources:
- Bob Egelko, "Engineer sues L.A. County for right to work from home when Pride flag is displayed," San Francisco Chronicle, March 10, 2026.
- Liberty Counsel, "Engineer Sues LA County Over Denied Religious Accommodation for 'Pride' Month," Liberty Counsel Newsroom, March 10, 2026.
- American Bar Association, "U.S. Supreme Court Ruling in Groff v. DeJoy Clarifies Heightened Standard for Evaluating Religious Accommodations," ABA Journal, Winter 2024.
- Catholic News Agency, "Lawsuit: Los Angeles Co. Fire Dept. 'retaliated' against Christian employee who refused to raise Pride flag," September 26, 2025.
