April 17, 2025
Today’s New York Times profiles Schlam Stone client Timothy Reen, a veteran firefighter whose severe OCD prevented him from complying with New York City’s public employee Covid vaccine mandate. Tim’s suit alleges that beyond forcing Tim out of his firefighter position on the basis of his disability, in retaliation for being unable to take the vaccine the FDNY and its top medical brass staged a scene to disclose Tim’s illness to the world of the FDNY to humiliate and destroy him. SSD partner Elizabeth Wolstein explained that “the FDNY’s actions are a poster child for arbitrary government action: the FDNY gave him a cost-free accommodation of masking and testing for nine months while his administrative appeal was pending, but denied the appeal in a single sentence that failed to explain why the same accommodation could not continue. When Tim explained to FDNY leadership, who summoned him to a struggle session, why he could not take the vaccine, they set out to ruin him.” Elizabeth and partner Vitali Rosenfeld are handling the case, Reen v. FDNY, et al., Index No. 5012761/2023 (N.Y. Supreme Court, Kings County).