Unvaccinated New York City (NYC) workers are to be reinstated and receive “back pay in salary from the date of termination” ruled a New York judge..NYC fired any employee who did not get vaccinated for COVID-19..On October 20, 2021, David Chokshi, NYC health commissioner, issued a vaccine mandate requiring all NYC employees to provide proof of at least one shot by October 29, 2021..Anyone who did not comply was fired in February 2022..But the judge on Tuesday overturned all the firings and ordered everyone to get their jobs back..“All unvaccinated people, living or working in the City of New York are similarly situated. Granting exemptions for certain classes and selectively lifting of vaccination orders, while maintaining others, is simply the definition of disparate treatment,” wrote the judge. .“Either there is a mandate for all, or there is a mandate for none.”.The judge wrote that the Health Commissioner can create “public health mandates” but not as a “condition of employment.” .“It is clear that the Health Commissioner has the authority to issue public health mandates,” wrote the judge..“No one is refuting that authority. However, the Health Commissioner cannot create a new condition of employment for city employees. The Health Commissioner cannot prohibit an employee from reporting to work. The Health Commissioner cannot terminate employees.”.The judge wrote that “being vaccinated does not prevent an individual from contracting or transmitting COVID-19 … CDC guidelines regarding quarantine and isolation are the same for vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals.”.The judge criticized the COVID-19 vaccine for not stopping the transmission of the virus..“We have learned through the course of the pandemic that the vaccine against COVID-19 is not absolute,” wrote the judge..Both President Joe Biden and the State of New York declared the pandemic over..“President Joseph Biden has said that the pandemic is over. The State of New York ended the COVID-19 state of emergency over a month ago,” wrote the judge..NYC fired approximately 1,400 workers for not complying with the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate..According to Bloomberg, 25 fire department employees, 36 NYPD employees, 40 sanitation workers, 101 NYC housing authority personnel, and 914 education workers were among the 1,400 fired..On September 23, another judge ruled New York Police Department (NYPD) officers did not need to be vaccinated if they were members of the city’s police union..“This decision confirms what we have said from the start: the vaccine mandate was an improper infringement on our members’ right to make personal medical decisions in consultation with their own health care professionals,” NYPD Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch told the media following the judge’s decision..“We will continue to fight to protect those rights,” Lynch added.
