The City Attorney’s Office says a firefighter who took legal action against the city and former LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley, alleging he was wrongfully suspended for about 700 days for refusing to be vaccinated against the coronavirus, will receive the back pay he is requesting.
Adin Waldrep’s Los Angeles Superior Court petition seeks restoration of his seniority and pay. On Monday, the City Attorney’s Office filed court papers with Judge Tiana Murillo stating that an arbitrator previously found that Waldrep and other firefighters who were removed and placed on an unpaid administrative leave pending selection of their Board of Rights hearings were entitled to back pay.
“Petitioner is a member of the affected class and will receive the back pay payments he seeks in the instant action,” the City Attorney’s Office further states in its court papers.
Beyond these back pay remedies, Waldrep is asking that the city process his religious exemption and engage in the interactive process, according to the pleadings of the City Attorney’s Office.
However, the office further states that Waldrep previously withdrew his religious exemption request, leaving nothing to process, plus the city’s vaccine mandate ordinance was rescinded in June 2024. So, Waldrep is not in a similar situation to other Los Angeles Fire Department employees who did have religious exemption requests to process, the city argues.
“Accordingly, this matter for all practical purposes is moot,” according to the City Attorney’s Office’s court papers, which ask that Waldrep’s petition, filed in January 2025, be denied during a scheduled Oct. 1 hearing before Murillo.
Waldrep joined the LAFD in late January 2006. His petition alleges that both Crowley and her predecessor, Ralph Terrazas, ignored the requirements of a personnel rule that stated any suspension imposed had to be with pay, even in the case of an emergency, until a finding of guilt was issued.
Crowley was fired by Mayor Karen Bass in February 2025 over her handling of the Palisades Fire and the current chief, Jaime Moore, took over the department last November. Crowley is still with the LAFD.