(The Center Square) — Thousands of New York City workers who lost their jobs because they refused to get jabbed with the COVID-19 vaccine can return to their jobs, outgoing Mayor Eric Adams announced Wednesday.

Adams, who steps down on Dec. 31, said he is giving about 2,900 city workers who were fired during the pandemic over their refusal to get vaccinated another shot at coming back to work as he prepares to depart City Hall.

Under the plan, terminated employees will be offered the opportunity to return to their same job at the same rate of pay, Adams said, but without credit for the time they didn't work, and with no right to backpay.

In a statement, the mayor defended his divisive vaccine mandate for city workers, which spurred protests and lawsuits, saying it helped the city weather the worst of the pandemic. He also boasted his post-pandemic policies helped New York City rebound "with a record number of jobs, record number of small businesses and near record tourism numbers."

"But we recognize that we are in a different place today than we were nearly four years ago, and our policies should match the realities of the times," Adams, a Democrat, said. "That’s why we are updating our policies to reflect our new health and economic reality, as we look forward to welcoming back many of our former employees to their former positions."

Adams made a similar offer to workers several years ago, but only about 450 returned to their jobs, according to the administration. The latest plan covers workers who were fired from positions in the New York City public school system and at the New York City Housing Authority, among other agencies.

During the pandemic, New York City imposed some of the strictest COVID-19 vaccine mandates in the country, enforcing requirements for both public and private sector workers.

Nearly 3,000 city workers were fired for refusing to get vaccinated, including 36 members of the New York City Police Department and more than 950 public school employees.

Several unions sued the city over the mandate, and Staten Island Supreme Court Justice Ralph Porzio issued a ruling that the city's policy was enacted "illegally" and workers who were fired for refusing to comply must be "immediately reinstated" with back pay. But the city appealed the judge's ruling.

Meanwhile, the Adams administration lifted a similar vaccine mandate for private sector employees and professional athletes in November.

In response to Adam's decision to drop the mandate, unions representing police officers, firefighters and other city workers who lost their jobs vowed they would take the city to court again to get back pay and benefits they lost.

Adams lifted the vaccine requirement in February 2023 after announcing more than 96% of New York City workers were fully vaccinated, making vaccination optional for current and prospective city workers.

City Councilwoman Joann Ariola, a fierce critic of the Adam's administration's COVID-19 policies, criticized Adam's move to rehire the fired municipal workers as "a clear case of too little too late."

'It is absolutely shameful that this mayor sought fit to spend taxpayer dollars to fight their return for his entire mayoralty, and only now on his way out does he see it fit to allow them to return to the jobs they never should have lost to begin with," the Republican said in a statement. "As a result of this administration’s despicable handling of this situation, we have seen good men and women put out of the jobs they love for years."

Ariola said Adam's plan also doesn't compensate workers for back pay and time for the period they were denied work, "one last denial of justice for a group that has already had their rights and livelihoods unjustly stripped from them for far too long."