The city’s Department of Education has suddenly begun a “get-tough” policy refusing medical accommodations for teachers with serious illnesses, including those recovering from cancer or from organ transplants, UFT President Michael Mulgrew announced today.
Mr. Mulgrew said: “First Mayor de Blasio announces that there will be no medical accommodations but backs off that claim while saying that the number of accommodations will be very small. Then — after the arbitration process the union has demanded is underway — the DOE starts rejecting clearly deserving accommodation requests from teachers who want to work but need additional COVID protection.”
“The city’s position is outrageous. We have urged the arbitrator now working on this case to ensure that medical accommodation requests will be evaluated on the basis of medical necessity, not according to City Hall’s political agenda,” Mulgrew said.
In accordance with the federal, state law, an individual with any physical, medical, mental, or psychological impairment is entitled to a reasonable accommodation to assist that individual in performing the activities involved in his or her job.
Recently rejected cases include:
- a teacher who underwent a kidney transplant was denied, even though she had taken the vaccine, but her body produced no antibodies, leaving her with no protection from the COVID virus;
- a high school teacher with stage IV kidney cancer was denied, despite letters from his physicians stating the danger facing him if he spent any time in a crowd;
- a teacher with diabetes along with a suppressed immune system due to an organ transplant whose application — pending since July — has been denied.
Sample rejection letter below (personal information redacted)
09/02/2021
Case#:
File#
EMP ID:
Dear ,
This is to advise you that your request for a Reasonable Accommodation has closed for the following reason:
- There are no further accommodations for COVID risk. If you need an accommodation for a disability or other limitations related to the essential functions of your position, you are welcome to reapply in SOLAS.'
Dear ___________,
It’s hard to believe that we are entering yet another school year under the shadow of the pandemic. We were hoping that this would be the year that we put COVID behind us, but with the rise of the delta variant our journey is not over. The vaccine helps us to protect our own health, but we still have the health of our unvaccinated students to protect and the unprecedented social-emotional and academic needs of all our students to address as we head back into the classroom.
One thing this pandemic has taught the world is the importance of education. When people say over and over again that kids need to be in schools, what they are really saying is that they need to be with you. What this pandemic has demonstrated is just how important you are to today's children and tomorrow’s future.
The past 18 months have thrown challenges at us that no one ever could have imagined. After navigating this pandemic, we know we can handle anything. You showed up for your students every single day and showed that you could bring calm and stability to situations that felt uncontrollable. The past school year was the hardest year of many of our lives, but we made it through. For that, we ought to be proud.
We have also learned from the challenges of last school year, and as our negotiations continue we are fighting to ensure that we start this school year with as many safety protocols, contractual rights and compensation agreements in place as possible to support the incredible work you do each and every day.
In such a highly politicized and polarizing time, we need to resist letting our differences produce cracks that others can exploit. That is what enemies of this union want. Now, it’s more important than ever for us to stick together.
The importance of a union has never been clearer than during this past year. With the power of our union, we will continue to fight for what’s right, for what’s best for our students and for what’s best for us. We will be there for each other and for our students. There’s light at the end of this long tunnel, and together we will make it to the other side.
Sincerely,
Michael Mulgrew's Signature
Michael Mulgrew
UFT President
28 comments:
Nasty. I would go to work in a hazmat suit everyday. I would send the denial to my lawyer and physician. Finally i would send a response to the DOE stating that they are on notice about my medical condition and will be held accountable if I become ill with Covid. However no one should be surprised by this response. The DOE is a system that doesn't seem to care about students. They have also always shown educators that they have little if any respect for their profession. Unfortunately too many educators turned a blind eye to the DOEs antics. They helped and continue to help this monster (DOE) grow. It's disgusting how the DOE is treating these poor people. They should wear that hazmat suit and maintain 6ft during meetings. If that means you are not in the same room so be it. Too bad most educators won't stick together and just give 6ft distance (as is the written doe policy) during meetings. Follow the policy to the "T" and stick TOGETHER. I pray for the well-being of anyone in this position. It's horrible.
LOL. I begged you to opt out. This is your thanks. And James gets to sit safely at home.
3/2020 all over again. Get mad James.
@waitingforsupport, i agree 100% but I think that a possible out is for people not to mention COVID or anything relates to COVID risk because DOE is hell-bent on not giving any accommodations related to COVID.
They wrote last year that they were not giving a lot of accommodations in any case and were looking to find ways to remove teachers on medical leaves, or too many absences, from payroll. Its unconscionable. As if this wasnt already enough of a thankless job.
Anyone in a building with inadequate bathroom ventilation should have there lawyer
write a letter to DOE legal, the Chancellor and the Mayor citing negligence by the Department of Education. Inadequate ventilation can be documented using a CO2 meter as the bathroom becomes increasingly polluted with fecal aerosols.
They should cite that DOE is not providing adequate restroom facilities and
seek a remediation and damages.
It is absolutely necessary to go on the offensive and quash the criminal mismanagement of
our workplace by De Blasio and Meisha Porter.
The UFT is too cowardly and beholden to its appeasement ideology to defend the health and well being of its members.
My guess is that the DOE is rejecting accommodations as way of covering up for its criminal
mismanagement of the school reopening. The toxic environment in the bathrooms is complete criminal negligence. By eliminating from the payroll those teachers who are immunocompromised they are engaged in "risk reduction" strategy for the NY city is incompetence, malfeasance and negligence.
They are also violating the civil rights of the teachers affected by there new policies.
They are trying to prevent major law suits for their bungling of the reopening of the schools.
Duhm covid isn't dangerous.
BREAKING: Biden's vaccine mandates for federal employees don't apply to members of Congress or staff
Only peasants apparently
That's a good idea too. I'm was just thinking how the punk a** DOE hates the smell of a possible law suit. I would probably also notify the press. Anything to put an ant in the DOE's nasty a** pants. I just wish there was a way for these folks who are really ill to stay safer. This really is sad.
Glad the arbitrator is giving accommodations to the immunocompromised! They deserve it. But help me understand why the City of NY, a blue city, should pay the health insurance of anti-vaxxers and why the State should pay for unemployment benefits????. I hope they hold a great big mask less party at the church of the religiously exempt and invite all their stupid friends to celebrate their victory here and they can all sit real close up to talk about the great state of Texas and its "ProLife Victory" and their 2nd Amendment rights ... Please send Mulgrew an invite!
There is now an agreement. Good news for smokers and fatasses.
@8:30 I know you're just trying to be your usual uncharming self but did you see the medical examples posted to this thread. You think people with cancer and kidney troubles are only smokers and fat asses? There are thin people with shingles, lupus, and other diseases. WTF is wrong with you?
Take pics of all of the violations. Stick together as brothers and sisters in your school bulding. Record conversations with admin about the lack of 3 ft. Send this sh^t to the media. Save yourselves.
7:36 am: Yep. All peasants= working class stiffs. Get it? At the end of the day, everyone in the boat (front and back) gets to wallow in sh^t and those on the yacht get the accommodations.
@8:30 pm... stop showing your ignorance. It's unbecoming. You sound miserable.
Come on guys, you know the stay at home deal was milked by people with a high bmi and smokers.
@11:43 not only. Many seemingly fit, and non-smoking nervous nellies on high blood pressure and other anti-anxiety medication managed to get their accommodations too. What category did you fall under?
I was told by a labor lawyer in NY city that the DOE (NY City) always pays the arbitrator Martin Scheinman. This would explain why the rulings are always very favorable to NY city.
Since the UFT accepts this arrangement and does not object, the UFT is complicit in this very corrupt arrangement.
Is this correct that the DOE and NY City are paying for Martin Scheinman without the UFT contributing?
If this is the arbitration payment arrangement , then it in of itself it explains how much the UFT rank and file have been defecated upon by Mulgrew and have been treated as disposable garbage.
Also, how is it that the COVID accommodation issue was decided in arbitration and the spring break pay for 2020 has not been decided?
I hope someone reading this blog can provide answer to these questions.
The arbitrator's fees are split 50-50 between DOE and UFT in grievance process.
How is it that the UFT always gets bad outcomes in arbitration with Scheinman.
Why has the UFT continued with an arbitrator such anti-UFT bias?
Why has the spring break pay not been arbitrated?
The Covid medical accommodations was
arbitrated in a timely way.
@8:21 pm...anxiety meds;
bi-polar; eating disorders including anorexia; panic disorders, depression, obsessive compulsive disorders. A lot of these mental health problems are displayed on this blog. 11:43 am could be anyone of these.
821, I fell under the condition that my principal let me work remotely with no med acc. Thanks for asking.
@9:39 sure, thanks for reaponding with a LIE
@waitingforsupport, 11:43/9:39 lives in an alternate reality where only "fatties and smokers" were on accommodation, and she worked remotely(using the term work loosely here) for no good reason. If one were to believe her lie, she's complaining about others getting accommodation, while at the same time, being delusional about getting one of her own for no legitimate reason. You just know the whiner is on some type of medication. Or perhaps the Principal decided it was just better to get rid of the stench.
Not a lie. Principals were allowed to let staff work remotely.
@251 am... you know it! During 2020 everyone worked remotely. When accommodations were required to continue working remotely i absolutely could see 9:39's principal saying, " keep your rotten a** home". Im glad 9:39 can admit that they are not wanted by their principal.
Lol. Who cares. If one gamed the system to stay home, sounds smart to me.
4:03 do you even know what the conversation is about? It's not about her gaming the system. It's about the utter hypocrisy to be so catty and calling names like a third grader about people who had accommodations while she sat her own ass at home for whatever reason.
As a smoking fat ass I am not offended by 8:30 pm. He’s entitled to express his opinion without smoking fat asses losing their shit over it.
12:20 ewww. You're a smoking fat azz and are not offended? Well yeah, I would think smoking fat azzes are too busy wallowing in their little pig sty to be offended. And you just love using the term "losing their shit". You wallow in it, so thats all you think about. But again, fat azz dummy, we were pointing out the hypocrisy. Go wash, you smell like smoke, and day old bacon.
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