LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) — A Louisiana civil service board upheld a decision to fire a fire department captain for insubordination after he repeatedly refused orders to wear a COVID-19 mask during a a training session last year.
The Lafayette Municipal Fire and Police Board unanimously agreed on Wednesday that the fire chief had good reason to fire Kevin Larriviere and acted in good faith, news organizations reported.
Chief Robert Benoit said the longtime employee violated 11 policies, including one against insubordination, when he refused to wear a mask to participate in a time entry training session on 10 August 2021, The Advocate reported.
At the time, a statewide mask mandate was still in place. It was lifted in October 2021.
Under his rules, Larriviere could have removed the mask once he was seated at the practice, officials said.
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“If you can’t do what we ask you to do in a normal environment, how can we expect you to do something when everything is falling apart? said Benedict.
Larrivière had worked for the department for more than 20 years, The Advertiser reported. He was fired on August 27, 2021.
Attorney Daniel Landry said Larrivière’s superiors should have considered underlying factors such as stress and anxiety.
These issues were not fully addressed in previous hearings, said Michael Corry, representing the fire department and the parish town.
Larrivière testified that he was sad, angry and frustrated for a number of reasons on August 10, including family life and the death of a car accident victim he had helped two days earlier. He had to go to the hospital twice in the previous months due to anxiety attacks that resembled heart attacks, he said.
He told his superiors that he refused to wear the mask for religious and medical reasons, without giving details.
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