Court sides with city against fire chief fired for attending church conference

The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit sided with the City of Stockton in firing former fire chief Ron Hittle, who argued he was terminated explicitly for attending a leadership conference hosted at a religious institution’s facilities.

The three-judge panel argued Hittle’s defense, which included the First Liberty Institute, Baker Botts, and the Church State Council, failed to prove religious discrimination by Stockton, and failed to disprove Stockton’s allegations of misconduct by Hittle that led to his firing.

Hittle alleges Stockton requested he attend a leadership training course of his choice, which in this case was the Global Leadership Summit held at Willow Creek Church, and included speakers of religious and non-religious backgrounds such as former chief operating officer of Meta Sheryl Sandberg. The city then opened an investigation into Hittle, alleging he had created a “Christian coalition” within the fire department, spending time outside work with other Christian firefighters, and attended the summit, albeit with free tickets, in a city vehicle with other members of his department while on city time.

A report by an independent investigator hired by the city found Hittle to have not been a sufficiently effective leader and that he attended a religious event in a city vehicle without requesting time off, though they also found he sufficiently complied with management directions. With the city contending the summit was a religious event, and basing on-duty attendance of the event as one of its grounds for firing, Hittle filed suit against Stockton, alleging religious discrimination.

With the three-member panel of the Ninth Circuit siding with Stockton, Hittle’s team is deciding whether to seek an appeal with a full, en banc review by the Ninth Circuit as a whole, or directly with the United States Supreme Court.

When asked about the case’s future, David Hacker, Vice President of Litigation at First Liberty Institute said, “Religious employees shouldn’t have to hide their faith in order to serve their communities in the workplace. It’s appalling that Stockton city officials fired a public servant whose goal was to save lives simply because they were intolerant of Chief Hittle’s religious beliefs. We will continue to fight on behalf of Chief Hittle, even if it means going to the U.S. Supreme Court.”

Stockton Assistant City Attorney Marci Arredondo’s office declined to comment as the case remains open.