Christian employee sues county gov’t after being denied religious exemption from pride month

March 13, 2026

A Christian civil engineer in California has filed a lawsuit against his county after being denied a religious exemption to work from home while his work office celebrated LGBT pride month.

The Christian Post reports that Eric Batman sued Los Angeles County and its Department of Public Works this week, in a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

The public works office, where Batman has been an employee for 24 years, has been directed by county leadership to fly the pride flag in celebration of pride month.

Batman had asked to work remotely during the month of June because of “his sincerely held religious beliefs and a conflict with his employer’s open and notorious celebration of something Batman considers a sin.”

The complaint states, “Batman’s request was unconstitutionally, unconscionably, and unlawfully denied. The accommodation that Batman sought is readily available, offered to other similarly situated employees needing accommodation for their religious beliefs, and would have imposed no hardship on Defendants.”

Batman’s complaint contends that his request “would not have hindered the County’s own desire to celebrate something that required Batman to tacitly and explicitly endorse something that violates his religious convictions.”

Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said in a statement Tuesday that the county is discriminating against his client.

In that statement, Staver said, “Forcing employees to violate their faith in the workplace is offensive to the First Amendment. Senior Civil Engineer Eric Batman requested a reasonable religious accommodation with no undue hardship on the county, yet it was unlawfully denied without the required interactive process.”

According to the Christian Post, in March 2023, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion to fly the “Progress Pride flag” every June at government buildings in honor of pride month.

The author of that motion, Supervisors Board Chair Janice Hahn, said at the time that the decision to fly the flags was in support of the LGBT community amid recent backlash.

Photo: top, Credit: Allison Dinner/AFP via Getty Images