The Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear an appeal from Ronald Hittle, a former California fire chief who claimed he was fired for his Christian faith, in a case that could have reshaped how workplace discrimination lawsuits are evaluated.

The Supreme Court on Monday announced that it will not intervene in a religious discrimination case out of California, meaning that a lower court ruling against a former fire chief will remain in place.

For nearly three years, it has seemed inevitable that the Supreme Court would strike down the “buffer zones” that restrict protests near the entrances of reproductive health clinics. A majority of the court has already castigated these laws—and past precedent upholding them—as a subversion of anti-abortion protesters’ First Amendment rights.