On March 10, 2025, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from a former California fire chief who claimed he was fired because of his Christian faith. The case, brought by Ronald Hittle, had the potential to reshape how courts handle employment discrimination claims but failed to gain enough support among the justices.
Hittle, who served as fire chief in Stockton, California, for 24 years, was dismissed after attending a two-day Christian conference while on city time. He argued that his termination was based on religious discrimination. The city, however, maintained that Hittle had been instructed to attend a leadership conference and that his firing was the result of repeated insubordination, not his religious beliefs.
Two conservative justices, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, dissented from the court’s decision to reject the case. Hittle, supported by the First Liberty Institute—an organization known for advocating religious freedom cases—had urged the court to overturn the 1973 precedent McDonnell Douglas Corp. v. Green, which established the legal framework for analyzing workplace discrimination claims.
Justice Thomas criticized the McDonnell Douglas standard, calling it one of the most confusing precedents in employment law. Under its three-step process, employees must first show they are part of a protected class and that discrimination appears to have occurred. The employer then has an opportunity to present a legitimate, non-discriminatory reason for its actions. Finally, the burden shifts back to the employee to prove that the employer’s stated reason was merely a pretext for discrimination.
Hittle and his attorneys argued that this framework makes it too difficult for employees to prove workplace bias and called on the Supreme Court to either eliminate the precedent entirely or make it easier for plaintiffs to succeed at the third step. “The court should take the opportunity to overrule this unworkable and egregiously wrong test without further delay,” his legal team wrote in their petition.
Despite the dissent from Thomas and Gorsuch, the Supreme Court’s refusal to take up the case means the ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld Hittle’s termination, will stand. While this decision leaves the current standard for discrimination claims intact, the debate over McDonnell Douglas is likely to continue in future cases.
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