FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
August 9, 2022
New York City Monkeypox Whistleblower Seeks Reinstatement
Dr. Don Weiss Will Use Whistleblower Laws to Compel the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to Reverse His Recent “Reassignment” for Whistleblowing
WASHINGTON—Government Accountability Project has notified New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) Commissioner Ashwin Vasan that Dr. Don Weiss is a DOMH whistleblower who is the victim of illegal retaliation.
Until his recent reassignment, Dr. Weiss was the DOHMH Director of Surveillance for the Bureau of Communicable Disease. Beginning in June 2022, he repeatedly raised significant concerns with DOHMH management about the agency’s gross mismanagement of public messaging about the Monkeypox pandemic. Within days of sending Commissioner Vasan a memorandum, Monkeypox Is a Sexually Transmitted Infection, Messages Suggesting Otherwise Are Misinforming and Prolonging the Outbreak, Dr. Weiss was reassigned to the DOHMH Division of Family and Child Health where he now works as a Specialist.
The reassignment is a demotion and constitutes retaliation. New York City and State whistleblower laws, rules and regulations prohibit retaliation against public employee whistleblowers. Dr. Weiss seeks reinstatement and will be using all legal means available to obtain that and other relief.
Dr. Weiss is represented by Government Accountability Project. Its letter is attached here. David Z. Seide said:
Dr. Don Weiss is a dedicated public health officer. He is the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s most experienced physician epidemiologist. He repeatedly expressed significant concerns about the City’s faulty messaging about Monkeypox risk that was endangering public health and safety. Management wrongly reacted with indifference and illegal retaliation.
Contact: Andrew Harman, Government Accountability Project Communications Director
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 202.926.3304
Government Accountability Project is the nation’s leading whistleblower protection organization. Through litigating whistleblower cases, publicizing concerns and developing legal reforms, Government Accountability Project’s mission is to protect the public interest by promoting government and corporate accountability. Founded in 1977, Government Accountability Project is a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C.
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