Fired BOCES worker loses appeal over refusing to attend LGBTQ training

Raymond Zdunski sued the Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES seeking reinstatement, back pay and $10 million in damages, but a district court dismissed his lawsuit a year ago.

The Manhattan-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals backed BOCES's decision to fire the Chautauqua County man. 

"It just seems like the country is against the Christian way of life, and it's for everything else," Zdunski said. "We're not allowed to practice our way of life but anyone else can, it seems."

Zdunski, now an office administrator for a tree service company, said losing his BOCES job for refusing to attend the training session amounted to "unlawful religious discrimination."

Zdunski was not terminated because of his religious beliefs, but because he repeatedly refused to attend the mandatory cultural competency training program that was designed to facilitate a safe environment for both students and staff, said David O'Rourke, district superintendent and CEO of Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES.

"We agree with the decisions of both the U.S. District Court and the Court of Appeals, and remain committed to fostering a safe and supportive environment for all students and staff," O'Rourke said.

"Zdunski failed to point to sufficient evidence favoring him that would allow a jury to return a verdict for him on any of his claims," the appellate opinion stated.

After refusing to attend the training session, Zdunski asked his BOCES bosses to schedule a mandatory training session concerning the persecution of Christians, according to court papers.

In defending against his lawsuit, BOCES said the LGBTQ training was related to preventing discrimination in the workplace.

The local Board of Cooperative Educational Services, a public entity that provides educational programs and services to school districts, initiated the LGBTQ training in 2018 in response to a meeting with a transgender employee who requested accommodations to facilitate a gender transition.

The training, put on by the local Pride Center, was titled "LGBTQ Cultural Competency," according to the lawsuit. 

Zdunski had worked at the BOCES central business office in Fredonia for about seven years, earning an annual salary of $32,000. His duties included processing payroll for three school districts, quarterly tax preparation and W-2 preparation. About a week before he was fired, he was promoted to senior account clerk, according to his lawsuit.

He told his bosses he did not want to attend the training, saying that as a devout Christian, his beliefs "are dictated to him by the Holy Scripture," according to his lawsuit.

He said in his lawsuit that he did not want to be forced to listen to "indoctrination that is in contradiction to the tenets of his faith."

In last year's court ruling against him, U.S. District Court Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford said state law requires BOCES to provide annual anti­-discrimination trainings for all employees and to maintain an environment free of discrimination and harassment.

Allowing Zdunski to forego the anti-discrimination training would have put BOCES in the position of violating the training requirements set forth in Dignity for All Students Act anti-discrimination training that all BOCES employees are required to undertake as a condition of their employment, Crawford said.

"No facts in the record support a finding that Mr. Zdunski was terminated because of his religion; rather, the evidence in the record supports (the) position that his termination was due to repeatedly refusing to attend a mandatory employee training," Crawford said.

Zdunski was not reprimanded after missing the first training in February 2018.

A few months later, he received an email from the human resources director advising all employees who did not attend the February training to attend a makeup session in May.

He replied by email asking about the specific aims of the training, and he was told the topics to be covered included "recognizing the difference between sex and gender, understanding aspects of identity, understanding how beliefs/feelings/values perpetuate oppression," according to his lawsuit.

He told the human resources director that the teaching at the training would contradict his religious beliefs. He also said in his email that he "loves all people and does not treat any co-worker or any other person differently from anybody else based upon their sexual orientation," according to his lawsuit.

BOCES denied his request for a religious accommodation exempting him from the LGBTQ training.

A central business office manager then issued Zdunski a counseling memo directing him to attend the training session the following day or face discipline, up to and including being fired.

The Ashville resident did not attend the session, and a week later a labor relations assistant for BOCES handed him a letter terminating his employment effective immediately.

Kristina S. Heuser, the lawyer who represented Zdunski, said his rights were violated "for no other reason than his refusal to be indoctrinated with anti-biblical teaching."

"Though the lower courts did not find in his favor, we are not deterred and will seek redress from the U.S. Supreme Court," Heuser said.