The New York City Department of Education this week notified dozens of school employees that they would be placed on unpaid leave effective Monday, after it said an internal investigation revealed they had provided false proof of coronavirus vaccination.
Law enforcement and the Special Commissioner of Investigation for the New York City School District are investigating the matter.
“Fraudulent vaccination cards are not only illegal, they also undermine the best line of protection our schools have against Covid-19: universal adult vaccination,” said Nathaniel Styer, a spokesman for the Education Department. “We immediately moved to put those employees — fewer than 100 — on leave without pay.”
The department would not reveal what evidence it had relied on to determine that the cards were fake. “If they have proof that they are vaccinated, they can show it,” Mr. Styer said.
Several of the employees told the city that they had followed the correct procedures and had received the notices in error, but they have yet to receive a response, according to the United Federation of Teachers, the teachers’ union.
“It is wholly improper for the DOE to unilaterally remove UFT members from the payroll based on mere conjecture that vaccination documentation is fraudulent,” Beth A. Norton, a lawyer for the union, wrote in a letter to the department.
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