Zero respect or sympathy for the deranged, woman-hating, Christo-fascist. Hope he loses the suit badly and that she counter-sues for harassment and creating a hostile work environment and bankrupts the Biblical bigot.
FFS, how many (or few) jobs exist where a man can be guaranteed that he won't have to work with women?
The irony here is that these right wing Christian weirdos are the first to take issue with Muslim women wearing a headscarf, squawking about how "oppressed" they are. It's the same damn thing, patriarchal belief systems making women responsible for men's behavior.
There is this pervading assumption among MAGAs that whenever a man and a woman are together, alone, unsupervised, sex will inevitably happen.
I'm 70 years old, unrepentantly cis-gender mail, and I must testify that nothing like that has ever happened to me. I've had my share of sex, but never with a woman I knew nothing about except her physical proximity.
Maybe she should develop a deep religious belief that she can't be in the room alone with any of the male techs and let's see if that gets taken seriously.
What did Mr. Ostapa do when he was called out to service the A/C unit at someone's home and only the wife was present? Did he refuse to take on the job? Did he insist on another male worker be present? Did he insist that the husband be present? Or did he just go and do the job without thinking or complaining about it?
If he can't be in a room with any other woman but his wife, then does he not visit his mother or sisters or other female relatives?
What does he do when being interviewed for a job and the person conducting the interview is a woman?
Were I a judge--and I'd be sitting on the bench in the black robe with an ice-cold margarita in my hand--I would begin and end this case by asking Mr. Ostapa the following:
"You claim, sir, that your sincerely-held religious belief is rooted in Scripture. Would you therefore identify for this court and for the record the materials of your clothing? And would you also identify for the court and the record any items or decorations on your person other than clothing?"
If he's so deep into the Bible, then he should respond with only one type of fabric and no jewelry. Otherwise, that's in direct contradiction of scripture.
Of course, if he's so ascared of women and their wiles, he could just go the Boston Corbett route, although I recommend anesthesia and sterilization of instruments beforehand.
Many years ago, when I worked for a large accounting firm, they hired a young woman who had been a nonobservant Jew, but then had supposedly become Orthodox just before she hired in, to please her new husband. She said she kept kosher, except she made lots of "exceptions" at the office. The one practice she insisted on was adherence to the rules of the Sabbath. To that end, she'd leave work at noon on Fridays so as to make her 40-minute trip home by sundown, even in the summer. So someone had to cover her desk all those Friday afternoons. At tax time, when we all had to come in one Saturday a month, she didn't participate in the rotation. The company wouldn't fire her for fear of a discrimination suit. Six months into her tenure, she broke up with her husband, but said she'd remain Orthodox. If she'd been sincere, I'd have had no problem at all with her practices. But it was obvious that she was working the religious angle for all it was worth.
I'm a woman and I don't want him being alone with me while he works on my HVAC.
Also, I can spot a well funded, astroturf set up when I see one. He seemed to be very careful to claim a religious exemption up front. Is his supervisor empowered to enter into this type of agreement verbally? Has it been documented in writing and approved by HR and legal? No?! Then, counter-sue the MFer for creating a hostile work environment and committing fraud through misrepresentation.
Zero respect or sympathy for the deranged, woman-hating, Christo-fascist. Hope he loses the suit badly and that she counter-sues for harassment and creating a hostile work environment and bankrupts the Biblical bigot.
The appearance of evil? The evil is all in this guy's mind. He's a bigot. Also beyond-normal stupid.
FFS, how many (or few) jobs exist where a man can be guaranteed that he won't have to work with women?
The irony here is that these right wing Christian weirdos are the first to take issue with Muslim women wearing a headscarf, squawking about how "oppressed" they are. It's the same damn thing, patriarchal belief systems making women responsible for men's behavior.
The trumpy administration comes close.
There is this pervading assumption among MAGAs that whenever a man and a woman are together, alone, unsupervised, sex will inevitably happen.
I'm 70 years old, unrepentantly cis-gender mail, and I must testify that nothing like that has ever happened to me. I've had my share of sex, but never with a woman I knew nothing about except her physical proximity.
If one of his male co-workers accused him of rape, Ostapa would be in a real pickle.
Ta, Robyn. When will he be filing his frivolous lol-suit?
Having a convicted felon and adjudicated rapist in charge of my country is against my religion.
Should I sue?
This guy needs to open his own business, advertise he won't work with women, and watch half of his potential customers disappear.
These types always think their God will bail them out when their businesses fail, just like Cake Guy and Hypothetical Website Lady.
It's fun watching their beliefs collide with reality...
Don't forget Joe the not-a-plumber, but delusional about it.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_the_Plumber
Well then he shouldn't hang around single men because they will have sex with him. He can hang out with sheep. Oh wait he can't.
JFC. Religion has seriously fucked up civilization.
Maybe she should develop a deep religious belief that she can't be in the room alone with any of the male techs and let's see if that gets taken seriously.
What did Mr. Ostapa do when he was called out to service the A/C unit at someone's home and only the wife was present? Did he refuse to take on the job? Did he insist on another male worker be present? Did he insist that the husband be present? Or did he just go and do the job without thinking or complaining about it?
If he can't be in a room with any other woman but his wife, then does he not visit his mother or sisters or other female relatives?
What does he do when being interviewed for a job and the person conducting the interview is a woman?
He's going to lose that suit lol. No judge on Earth would rule that disallowing female co-workers is a reasonable accomodation. Just not happening.
Unless it goes to the Supreme Court.
Were I a judge--and I'd be sitting on the bench in the black robe with an ice-cold margarita in my hand--I would begin and end this case by asking Mr. Ostapa the following:
"You claim, sir, that your sincerely-held religious belief is rooted in Scripture. Would you therefore identify for this court and for the record the materials of your clothing? And would you also identify for the court and the record any items or decorations on your person other than clothing?"
If he's so deep into the Bible, then he should respond with only one type of fabric and no jewelry. Otherwise, that's in direct contradiction of scripture.
Of course, if he's so ascared of women and their wiles, he could just go the Boston Corbett route, although I recommend anesthesia and sterilization of instruments beforehand.
Don't forget to ask him if he has any tattoos.
And if he eats shrimp
Oh hell, just ask him what party he's registered as a voter for. That'll tell you how big of a hypocrite he is.
And does he worship trumpy more than he worships God. That's even a commandment.
Then there's the Golden Rule. Does he want to be treated the same way he treats women?
You make a good point that so many of these "religious accommodation" lawsuits revolve around on infringing on other people's rights.
Many years ago, when I worked for a large accounting firm, they hired a young woman who had been a nonobservant Jew, but then had supposedly become Orthodox just before she hired in, to please her new husband. She said she kept kosher, except she made lots of "exceptions" at the office. The one practice she insisted on was adherence to the rules of the Sabbath. To that end, she'd leave work at noon on Fridays so as to make her 40-minute trip home by sundown, even in the summer. So someone had to cover her desk all those Friday afternoons. At tax time, when we all had to come in one Saturday a month, she didn't participate in the rotation. The company wouldn't fire her for fear of a discrimination suit. Six months into her tenure, she broke up with her husband, but said she'd remain Orthodox. If she'd been sincere, I'd have had no problem at all with her practices. But it was obvious that she was working the religious angle for all it was worth.
I'm a woman and I don't want him being alone with me while he works on my HVAC.
Also, I can spot a well funded, astroturf set up when I see one. He seemed to be very careful to claim a religious exemption up front. Is his supervisor empowered to enter into this type of agreement verbally? Has it been documented in writing and approved by HR and legal? No?! Then, counter-sue the MFer for creating a hostile work environment and committing fraud through misrepresentation.