Health center to pay $195K to worker fired for raising COVID concerns
Reprints
A New York health center has agreed to pay $195,000 to an employee who was fired at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic after refusing to attend an in-person meeting over fears of contracting the virus.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Friday that Staten Island-based Community Health Center of Richmond Inc. and its CEO, Henry Thompson, agreed to pay back wages and compensatory damages to the worker, who was suspended and subsequently terminated in April 2020 for “insubordination” for refusing to attend the in-person meeting.
The employee initially unilaterally changed the meeting to teleconference, but the CEO ordered it be held in a windowless conference room, OSHA said.
The employee filed a federal whistleblower complaint for being fired for reporting a hazardous work condition.
The company and CEO agreed to pay the former worker following litigation and mediation, OSHA said.
The company also agreed to expunge adverse employment records referencing the former employee, provide a neutral job reference for the fired worker, and inform current employees that they will not be discriminated against for engaging in protected activities.
