Suit was filed last week in a New York federal district court by an HVAC technician who alleges that his firing violated Title VII and the New York State Human Rights Law. The complaint (full text) in Ostapa v. Trane U.S. Inc,, (ND NY, filed 10/14/2025), alleges that Plaintiff's employer, Trane Technologies, for the first time hired a female technician to work out of the same office as plaintiff. The complaint goes on in part:
13. Paul is a devout Christian. He attended Bible College in Ukraine before emigrating to the United States and is a member in good standing of the Southern Baptist Convention, a fundamentalist Christian denomination.
14. Paul’s Christian faith and sincerely held religious beliefs dictate that he is not to be alone with a woman other than his wife. The origin of this religious doctrine is the biblical story of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife found in Genesis 39....
Plaintiff's manager agreed to accommodate plaintiff's beliefs by not assigning a female to work alone with plaintiff. Subsequently, however, a dispatcher reported plaintiff to the HR department and he was ultimately fired. The complaint alleges that the firing constituted a failure to accommodate and retaliation in violation of Title VII, as well as a violation of New York law.
Liberty Counsel issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.
