Christian lifeguard says LA County punished him over Pride flag objection

A Christian lifeguard for the Los Angeles County Fire Department who says he was punished for his religious beliefs after objecting to Pride flag duties is headed toward trial.

Captain Jeffrey Little, a veteran of more than 20 years in the L.A. County Fire Department’s Lifeguard Division, sued Los Angeles County and several fire department supervisors in 2024 after the county adopted a policy in 2023 requiring the Progress Pride flag be flown at county facilities throughout June to honor LGBTQ Pride month.

Little, a devout Christian, argued the policy conflicted with his religious beliefs about marriage and sexuality and sought a religious accommodation exempting him from personally raising the flag or ensuring subordinates raised it. Little said the county initially granted this accommodation before revoking it just two days later.

Little took down several flags and was later placed under investigation and ultimately suspended for 15 days without pay.

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Captain Jeffrey Little is suing the L.A. County Fire Department, alleging he was punished over his religious beliefs, after asking for religious accommodation for the county requirement to fly the “Progress Pride Flag” at lifeguard stations. (Thomas More Society/Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images)

The county says Little was not punished for his religious beliefs but for taking down government-issued Pride flags without authorization and violating department policy.

Little’s attorney, Paul Jonna of the Thomas More Society, told Fox News Digital that Little took down the flags under the belief he was acting within the accommodation granted by the county and with the understanding that some stations were not required to fly the Pride flag because they lacked sufficient clasps under the county’s own flag policy. Jonna said other Pride flags had previously been removed from stations earlier that month for the same reason.

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Jonna also said there were other lifeguards who “vandalized and desecrated” the LGBTQ flag but were either not disciplined or were given shorter suspensions than Little, whom he says went through the proper channels to request a religious accommodation for flying the flag.

Gregory Winfrey, left, and Benedicto Barnachea, right, security guards with Allied Universal, raise the Progress Pride Flag over the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration in downtown on Thursday, June 1, 2023 in Los Angeles, CA. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

The lawsuit alleges Little faced retaliation, harassment and discrimination after requesting the accommodation. It also claims Lifeguard Division Chief Fernando Boiteux told Little that his “religious beliefs don’t matter,” an allegation the county disputes.

Jonna said the case is now being prepared for trial after a hearing last week, in which a federal judge issued a sealed ruling granting in part and denying in part both the county’s motion for summary judgment and Little’s motion for partial summary judgment.

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Little says he is not asking the county to end its Pride flag policy but is seeking a permanent religious accommodation exempting him from personally raising the flag or directing others to do so, along with damages and removal of disciplinary findings from his personnel file.

“At the end of the day, the law requires favored treatment for religious beliefs and the county’s message to him and to others like him that their religious beliefs don’t matter clearly is unconstitutional and discriminatory,” Jonna said.

Flags wave in the wind during a Progressive Pride Flag raising ceremony on the steps of San Fernando City Hall on Wednesday, June 1, 2022. (Hans Gutknecht/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)

The LA County Fire Department did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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