New York City workers who didn’t comply with COVID-19 vaccine mandates were “demonized and ostracized,” Hermione Susana told the Religious Liberty Commission on Feb. 9.
Susana was the first unvaccinated worker to testify before the panel about the cost of refusing a COVID-19 shot on religious grounds.
President Donald Trump established the commission in May 2025 to “safeguard and promote America’s founding principle of religious freedom.”
Since then, members of the committee have held hearings examining religious discrimination across numerous sectors, including employment. They will deliver policy recommendations to the president in May 2026.
Before COVID-19 mandates took effect, Susana worked at three major New York venues: Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center and Yankee Stadium.
“Madison Square Garden was one of the first employers to institute a vaccine mandate,” she told “Good Morning CHD” this week.
In May 2021, her employer told staff members they could submit “either a medical accommodation or religious accommodation by July,” she said. She filed a religious request, but it was denied.
“I was one of the first people to be fired because I was unvaccinated,” Susana said.
As New York City expanded vaccine requirements across the private sector, Susana lost her remaining jobs. The Barclays Center was completely indoors, she said, “so I lost that job in September.” Yankee Stadium was indoors and outdoors, so that job lasted longer. December was “the last nail in the coffin,” she said.
Susana repeatedly asked her union for help. “They were supposed to file grievances. They never did,” she said. “They were supposed to negotiate on our behalf. They didn’t.”
By January 2022, the financial strain forced her to leave New York. “I lost everything,” she said. She moved in with family in Georgia to “make it through.”
“It’s the story of so many of us,” she said of workers who refused the COVID-19 vaccine.
‘Demonized and ostracized’ for upholding religious freedom
Exclusion defined daily life in New York City for the unvaccinated during COVID-19, Susana told the commission.
Beginning in September 2021, unvaccinated people could not enter indoor restaurants, theaters or venues “based on not having papers,” she said. The unvaccinated were “demonized and ostracized for upholding constitutional religious freedom.”
Susana also described uneven enforcement of the rules. While New York City barred workers like her from some venues, officials allowed unvaccinated nonresident performers and athletes to work in those same buildings.
“How come athletes and performers can go in for no reason, just because they can sing or they can … bounce a basketball, and I’m in the same exact place and there is no oversight?” she asked on CHD.TV.
Susana moved back to New York as mandates eased. But even after the city lifted its vaccine requirement for private-sector employees, recovery came slowly, she said. Barclays Center rehired workers in late 2022, but Susana waited much longer to regain work tied to Yankee Stadium. She was never rehired at Madison Square Garden, she testified.
Years later, she’s still dealing with the consequences. “I do not have health insurance and I’m unable to obtain affordable housing,” she said.
Despite the pressure to comply with the COVID-19 mandates, Susana said she refused to obtain false vaccination documentation to keep working. “Our laws protect our religious freedom, and it should be fought for despite the cost,” she said.
Fired workers still facing ‘a great evil’
The Religious Liberty Commission, housed under the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), is compiling testimony and recommendations for the president.
The report will focus on “the foundations of religious liberty in America, strategies to increase awareness of and celebrate America’s peaceful religious pluralism, current threats to religious liberty, and strategies to preserve and enhance protections for future generations.”
“They’re taking what we’re saying and making recommendations for change,” Susana said of the committee’s members.
Susana stressed the need for accountability, saying she wants religious accommodations to be taken seriously. “If we submit them, it should be respected,” she told CHD.TV. “The city should take that seriously.”
She also pointed to unresolved cases involving public-sector workers. Although some fired employees won in lower courts, reinstatements have been delayed due to appeals, she told the commission.
It is “a great evil” that fired workers are “still going through this to this day,” she said.

This article was funded by critical thinkers like you.
The Defender is 100% reader-supported. No corporate sponsors. No paywalls. Our writers and editors rely on you to fund stories like this that mainstream media won’t write.
‘I would strongly, strongly encourage people just to step up’
Advocates say Susana’s testimony is only the beginning.
The Religious Liberty Commission will hold a hearing on March 16 to discuss religious freedom concerns in healthcare and social services, including denial of religious exemptions from vaccine mandates.
Susana urged others who faced similar treatment during COVID-19 to email their stories before the March hearing.
“I would strongly, strongly encourage people just to step up,” she told CHD.TV. “Don’t fear, especially if you’re a person of faith. … You should not fear because God is with you.”
Michael Kane, director of advocacy for Children’s Health Defense, also asked parents in West Virginia, Connecticut, New York, Maine and California to contact the commission if their children are unable to attend school because laws in these states do not allow religious exemptions.
“We want thousands of stories going to the DOJ,” so federal officials understand that religious liberty and bodily autonomy remain national issues, Kane said.
Susana shared a similar message with the commission. “Religious liberty must never cost a person’s livelihood or home or dignity in America,” she said.
Watch Hermione Susana on ‘Good Morning CHD’ here:
- Breaking: Congress Members Urge DOJ to Investigate 4 States That Prohibit Religious Exemptions
- ‘Right These Wrongs’: CHD Asks Sen. Moreno to Seek Justice for Workers Fired Under COVID Vaccine Mandates
- New York Teachers Vow to Keep Fighting After Supreme Court Turns Down Religious Exemptions Case
- Fired New York Workers Who Sued City Over COVID Vaccine Mandates Say New Rehiring Plan Falls Short, Urge Supreme Court to Hear Their Case
