What will this mean for the other fire fighters who refused getting vaxxed? As former White House COVID adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci’s pandemic-era decisions face renewed scrutiny in Washington, and as his direction of the COVID response now comes under question, Los Angeles is still dealing with the financial consequences of its own COVID, now what many call ill-advised policies. Fauci repeatedly invoked the Fifth Amendment during a Senate hearing when questioned about the government’s handling of the pandemic and COVID’s origins.
The Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office now says firefighter Adin Waldrep, who alleges he was suspended without pay for roughly 700 days after refusing the city’s COVID vaccine mandate, will receive back pay. An arbitrator determined Waldrep and other firefighters placed on unpaid administrative leave while awaiting disciplinary proceedings were entitled to the money, according to reporting by MyNewsLA. Waldrep, fighting fires since 2006, sued the city and former Fire Chief Kristin Crowley–who is herself suing the city after being removed as fire chief, by Karen Bass following the Palisades fire–arguing department officials ignored a personnel rule requiring suspensions to remain with pay until a finding of guilt. The city ended the vax requirement in June 2024.
The dispute is another reminder that while the COVID emergency and Los Angeles vaccine mandate are over, the legal and financial reckoning over how those policies were enforced continues — and Los Angeles taxpayers are footing the bill.
AI contributed in compiling this story.
