A veteran Los Angeles County engineer is taking his employer to federal court, arguing he should not have to walk under a Pride flag to do his job.
Eric Batman, a senior civil engineer with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works, sued the county on Tuesday, seeking permission to work from home every June when the Progress Pride Flag is flown at his building. The federal complaint argues that being required to work in a facility flying the flag forces Batman to choose between his religious beliefs and his employment, and it asks a judge to declare that the county violated his religious and civil rights protections.
Batman has worked for the county for 24 years and supervises flood-control and stormwater facilities from an office in suburban Alhambra, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. The suit says he was promoted to senior civil engineer in 2015 and that, instead of granting his requested accommodation, supervisors previously told him to use a back entrance or seek counseling. His lawyers argue that the county refused to engage in the interactive Title VII process that is required for evaluating religious accommodations…