ALBANY

Feds: Amsterdam doctor fired staffer who reported COVID violations; He earlier sued Wilton butcher over masks

By John Cropley | March 17, 2022

ALBANY — The Amsterdam doctor who sued a butcher shop manager over a COVID mask mandate has himself been sued, for allegedly firing an employee who reported COVID protocol violations at his office. ... The U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday said the move by ophthalmologist Dr. David Kwiat was a form of illegal retaliation under whistleblower provisions of the Occupational Safety and Health Act and 24 other statutes.

The DOL complaint against Kwiat and Kwiat Eye and Laser Surgery alleges that an employee expressed concerns to a supervisor for nine-plus months about the lack of COVID-19 safety protocols, including mask wearing and social distancing, at the medical practice on Route 30 in the town of Amsterdam. ... The DOL whistleblower investigation concluded Kwiat retaliated against the employee for filing complaints with the New York State Department of Health — firing her on the spot and telling her that was why.

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Kwiat drew widespread attention in February with a federal lawsuit against the manager of the Wilton location of Primal Your Local Butcher claiming the manager had violated the U.S. Constitution by refusing to sell him a steak in December unless he covered his mouth and nose in the store, as dictated by a state order in force at the time.

The Saratoga Springs resident sought $250,000 in damages as well as a grand jury review of the manager’s actions, which he asserted constituted crimes under state and federal law. ... Kwiat, who represented himself, soon dropped the lawsuit, saying at the time his point had been made and mask mandates were being dropped. ... In the details of that lawsuit and in his brief comments to this newspaper, a picture emerged of Kwiat as an individual adamant that the COVID-19 pandemic is a hoax, that the public health efforts imposed to slow its spread are ineffective and, if imposed as a requirement, a violation of constitutional rights.

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