Health Center to Pay $195,000 to Worker Fired for Raising COVID Concerns

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 unilaterall...