Discharge of Fire Chief Who Attended Religious Event Upheld

Takeaway: This case shows that an employer can overcome an employee’s claims of religious discrimination by keeping a clear and comprehensive record of the reasons for any adverse employment action. While the action may undergo challenge in court regardless, a detailed memorialization of the decision-making process, including, where appropriate, an independent investigation, can withstand judicial scrutiny.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment in favor of the city of Stockton, Calif., on claims by its former fire chief that the city had discriminated against him based on his religion when it terminated his employment. The court agreed with the city that, contrary to the former fire chief’s contention that he was let go for attending a religious event, an independent investigation had yielded several legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons for the city to remove him from his position, and the evidence did not indicate those reasons were a pretext for religious discrimination.

The fire chief had been the subject of a third-party complaint that his personal Christian beliefs inappropriately influenced his performance of official duties, including alleged favoritism toward a group of Christian employees.

Separately, the city’s deputy city manager, to whom the fire chief reported, grew concerned that he was defying city initiatives directed at addressing a financial crisis, and that he was creating potential ethical issues by allowing firefighters wearing on-duty clothing to engage in union advocacy.

To address these issues, the deputy city manager required the fire chief to identify and attend a leadership training program for public-sector officials. The fire chief said he was unable to find such a program that was nearby and affordable.

The fire chief then obtained tickets to an event called the Global Leadership Summit. The event advertised itself as training for “Christian leaders,” held for the benefit of a local church but featuring business-leadership and management content. The fire chief traveled to the event with three firefighters, on city-compensated time and using a city-owned vehicle. Their attendance at the event was the subject of another third-party complaint about the use of city resources for religious purposes.

Shortly thereafter, a local newspaper reported a potential undisclosed conflict of interest arising from the fire chief’s co-ownership of a vacation property with a union president and other officials.

The city initiated an investigation into the co-ownership and other apparent instances of misconduct by the fire chief. An independent third party performed the investigation and generated a report concluding that many, though not all, of the allegations of misconduct were sustained, including that the fire chief had improperly attended a “religious event” using city time and resources. Relying on the report, which determined the fire chief had violated various city rules and policies, the city removed the fire chief from his position.

The now-former fire chief asserted claims against the city, alleging that his removal was due to his attendance at a religious event and thus violated state and federal law prohibiting religious discrimination. The district court granted summary judgment for the city, and the former fire chief appealed.

The 9th Circuit held there was neither direct nor circumstantial evidence of religious discrimination. The court determined that references by city officials to the religious nature of the event did not render the termination decision religiously motivated because they merely reflected concerns that others had reported, as well as constitutional concerns. They also embodied the city’s conclusion that the fire chief had improperly used city resources with no corresponding benefit to the city, because the event was not geared toward public-sector leaders.

Finally, the appeals court was unpersuaded by the former fire chief’s attempts to show pretext by noting that some allegations were not sustained by the investigation, because the most serious ones were sustained. In addition, the report identified numerous infractions that had nothing to do with religion. The fire chief’s disagreement with the investigator’s conclusions, the court ruled, did not make them pretextual.

Hittle v. City of Stockton, Calif., 9th Cir. No. 22-15485 (Aug. 4, 2023).

Adam D. Brown is an attorney with Duane Morris in Philadelphia.