The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted in 2023 to force every county department to fly the Progress Pride flag throughout June.
That policy just landed the county in federal court – and the reason why is something its supervisors cannot explain.
A county engineer named Eric Batman asked to work from home for one month, and the government of Los Angeles told him his Christian beliefs might be a mental illness.
Los Angeles County Granted Ramadan Accommodations but Denied This Christian Employee
Eric Batman's request was simple.
He asked to work remotely during June – the same job he had already done successfully from home – so he wouldn't be forced to tacitly endorse the Progress Pride flag his department was required to fly at its Alhambra headquarters.
The county said no.
What made that denial explosive wasn't the refusal itself – it was what came next.
Instead of engaging in the legally required interactive process under Title VII, county officials told Batman he could use the back door to avoid seeing the flag.
Or he could seek mental health counseling.
Liberty Counsel, the conservative legal organization now representing Batman in federal court, was direct about what that suggestion means legally and morally: the county had effectively declared his Christian beliefs to be a mental illness.
Batman has worked for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works for 24 years.
He was promoted to Senior Civil Engineer in 2015.
His record is described as exemplary.
This is not a fringe figure the county can dismiss.
The Title VII Religious Discrimination Claim Los Angeles County Cannot Answer
Here's what Los Angeles cannot explain in court.
The county has granted remote work accommodations to Muslim employees during Ramadan.
That accommodation – working from home to observe religious beliefs – is identical in structure to what Batman requested.
The county said yes to one faith.
It said no to another, then suggested the man might be mentally ill for having religious convictions at all.
Liberty Counsel's lawsuit argues the county "provided neither accommodation nor tolerance of Batman's religious beliefs" and instead "displayed overt hostility towards Batman by refusing to provide him an accommodation the law plainly requires."
That language comes directly from the complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
This is also not the first time Los Angeles County has been sued over this exact policy.
In May 2024, Jeffrey Little – an evangelical Christian county lifeguard – sued the county for requiring him to work directly in front of the same flag.
That case, filed by the Thomas More Society, remains ongoing.
Los Angeles County has now triggered two federal religious discrimination lawsuits over the same 2023 policy mandating the Progress Pride flag across all county departments.
How the Supreme Court's Groff v DeJoy Ruling Destroyed Los Angeles County's Defense
Los Angeles is not operating in a legal gray area here.
In June 2023, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously in Groff v. DeJoy that employers cannot deny a religious accommodation simply because it creates minor inconvenience.
The Court held that undue hardship requires showing a burden "substantial in the overall context of an employer's business" – a dramatically higher bar than the old standard courts had applied for decades.
Batman's request imposed zero cost.
His work was already being done remotely by other employees.
He had already performed the same job from home during June 2023 – when building construction provided the excuse the county was willing to accept.
The only thing that changed in 2024 and 2025 was that Batman cited his faith as the reason.
That's when Los Angeles said no, use the back door, and maybe get some help for those beliefs of yours.
Mat Staver, founder of Liberty Counsel, put it plainly: "The Constitution does not allow the government – or a government employer – to put citizens in the impossible position of choosing between their conscience and their livelihood."
He's right.
And Los Angeles County, which serves one of the most religiously diverse populations in America, just went on record telling a Christian employee with an exemplary 24-year record that his faith is a disorder.
Mat Staver has built Liberty Counsel into the legal organization Los Angeles County should have feared before it started suggesting Christians need therapy.
He's faced bigger governments than this one and won.
Sources:
- Liberty Counsel, "Engineer Sues LA County Over Denied Religious Accommodation for 'Pride' Month," lc.org, March 10, 2026.
- KESQ Staff, "Public Works Employee Sues LACo Over LGBT Pride Flag," KESQ, March 11, 2026.
- Holland & Knight, "U.S. Supreme Court Upends Religious Accommodation Obligations for Employers," hklaw.com, July 2023.
- Executive Order 14202, "Eradicating Anti-Christian Bias," Federal Register, February 12, 2025
