Christian Engineer in Los Angeles Sues to Make Sure He Can Abstain from 'Pride Month'
A civil engineer who works for Los Angeles County is filing a lawsuit to ensure he is not forced to endorse “pride month,” which conflicts with his Christian beliefs.
Eric Batman has worked for Los Angeles County for the past 24 years, and yet the Department of Public Works is denying his request to work remotely for the month of June, per a March 10 release from Liberty Counsel.
He wants to avoid being present in his workplace while they display a “pride” flag.
Batman, a part-time employee, is seeking “an injunction against his unconstitutional denial which is unlawful under Title VII, the First and Fourteenth Amendments, and California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act,” Liberty Counsel said in the release.
“The county has allowed other religious employees to work remotely for other reasons, such as Ramadan, but is discriminating against Batman for his Christian beliefs,” the legal advocacy group added.
Back in 2023, Los Angeles County started requiring its agencies to fly the “Progress Pride Flag” in June.
We filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of Eric Batman, a longtime Los Angeles County civil engineer who was unlawfully denied a religious accommodation to abstain from tacitly endorsing the “LGBTQ Pride” flag at his workplace.
Batman is suing the county and its Department of… pic.twitter.com/38Br8aUftY
— Liberty Counsel (@libertycounsel) March 10, 2026
That’s the flag which includes not only rainbow stripes, but black and brown stripes, a purple ring, a yellow triangle, and other elements.
Batman requested accommodations in 2024 and 2025 as well, since he had previously worked remotely during a period of building construction.
But Los Angeles County officials said his request was counterproductive to an “inclusive and welcoming environment for all.”
They suggested he seek out “mental health counseling” if the rainbow flag distressed him.
Liberty Counsel founder and chairman Mat Staver contended that the response violated 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,” he said in a statement.
“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 added.
“When the state compels employees to act against their sincerely held religious beliefs, it crosses a constitutional line that courts have repeatedly said cannot be crossed,” Staver said.
“Viewpoint discrimination is unlawful and violates the First Amendment and religious discrimination violates Title VII.”
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