In late March of last year, as the pandemic was raging in New York City, Karen Ramirez, a 39-year-old police officer, began wearing a mask to work at the NYPD's headquarters. The professional consequences, she alleges, were swift.
Police leaders — including three sergeants and a lieutenant — "made fun of and retaliated against" her over the health decision, according to Ramirez, who is suing the department in Manhattan Supreme Court.
At the March 25, 2020 roll call, just one week before the federal government recommended all Americans wear masks, Sergeant Carmine Nicastro "started cursing and yelling" at Ramirez about the face protection, the suit alleges.
After Ramirez told supervisors that she was worried about infecting her elderly parents and kids, she was moved to the bustling annex of One Police Plaza, where she believed she was much more likely to contract the virus. "You want a mask that will be your permanent post," another supervisor, Sergeant Edgar Figueroa, allegedly told her.
The city has faced repeated questions about the open defiance of state mask rules from the NYPD, including top brass. In October, as public pressure on the department mounted, the NYPD announced that officers who violated mask guidelines would be disciplined.
But according to Ramirez, her supervisors continued to taunt and harass her about wearing the mask, even as the number of NYPD officers infected with the virus continued to rise. Between March and October of last year, at least 46 NYPD members died of COVID-19.
John Scola, an attorney for Ramirez, said that the mask dispute actually stemmed from an incident the previous year, in which his client was chastised for taking lactation breaks after returning from maternity leave. After filing a complaint with the Office of Equal Employment, she was forced to pump in a janitor's closet and security booths, and repeatedly had her breast milk taken, the suit alleges.
NYC law states that employers must provide a "clean and private space to pump" that is "shielded from others’ view and free from intrusion by coworkers and members of the public."
"They were screwing with her as retaliation for her being a woman who got pregnant and went out on maternity leave," Scola told Gothamist.
In a statement, Sergeant Edward Riley, a spokesperson for the NYPD, said the department "does not tolerate discrimination in any form and is committed to respectful work environments for our diverse workforce."
He declined to comment on the specifics of the pending litigation.
