Liberal Forum

Winning a lawsuit against a municipal employer and actually collecting the money a  court says you’re owed are two entirely different fights — the first is decided by a judge, the second is decided by how long an agency’s lawyers can stretch an appeal. The case of Staten Island firefighter Timothy Rivicci, fired from FDNY’s Engine 158 during the COVID-19 vaccine mandate era, has become a vivid illustration of that gap: a judge ordered him reinstated with back pay in 2022, and by 2026 he was reportedly still waiting for the check, with a hearing on the matter landing on the twenty-fifth anniversary of September 11...

Key Points

• A New York State Supreme  Court judge ruled in October 2022 that Rivicci was entitled to reinstatement, back pay, and attorney fees dating to his November 5, 2021 termination.
• Reporting at the time put the award at roughly $192,000, though the surfaced  court order itself specifies entitlement rather than a final reconciled dollar figure.
• The city’s Law Department immediately appealed, arguing the appeal automatically stayed enforcement and that the mandate remained lawful and necessary for public health.
• By 2026, coverage indicates Rivicci had returned to duty but had still not received the back pay a court ordered nearly four years earlier.
• The dispute reflects a well-established pattern in New York public-employment law: reinstatement and back-pay entitlement are often decided quickly, while enforcement and calculation drag on for years.

https://usnewsmag.com/back-pay-ordered- ... dium=email

hopefully he’ll sue their asses for interest as well…