David Hall, federal employee, is suing the U.S. government because it had the audacity to require diversity training in the workplace. Hall claims that the government violated his religious freedom rights by assigning the training, which consisted of watching a short video on the LGBT community.
He hasn’t actually been fired—just suspended for two days, after twice refusing to watch the video—but that didn’t prevent him from filing suit. The entire story is deeply predictable now: Conservative Christian refuses to perform job even though taxpayers pay his salary, sues in order to get his way.
Equally predictable is his decision to portray himself as a martyr:
I think this is an issue they are prepared to go to the mat with, but I’m not going to give up my faith or compromise my beliefs just to go along and get along. I don’t believe God wants me to do that.
That’s unfortunate, because Hall has no real case. He’s demanding a unilateral exemption from a job requirement. That is not the same thing as requesting a reasonable accommodation from his federal employer—at least not as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act defines “reasonable accommodation.” If Hall won’t undergo the training, he can’t keep his (secular, publicly funded) job. Those are the breaks.