A New York judge on Wednesday refused to suspend the application of the COVID-19 vaccine to municipal workers in the city, scheduled for Friday and denied the police union’s request for a temporary restraining order.
Judge Lizette Colon said the mandate may go into effect as planned, while ordering city officials to appear in court on Nov. 12 to defend the requirement against a lawsuit by the union that seeks to make it illegal. .
Police officers, firefighters, and most other municipal workers must show that they have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by 5 p.m. Friday.
Previously, city workers could show negative test to continue working.
Workers who do not do so will be on leave without pay starting Monday.
As a result, the city’s fire department said it was preparing to shut down 20% of its fire companies and have 20% fewer ambulances on duty.
Colon, whose court is in Staten Island, issued the ruling hours after hearing arguments from attorneys for the Police Benevolent Association (PBA), the city’s largest police union, and city attorneys, who they prevailed, arguing that the mandate should be implemented without delay.
PBA President Pat Lynch said in a statement that Colon’s refusal to stop the mandate “prepares the city for a real crisis” and “will inevitably result in fewer police officers available to protect our city.”
As of Tuesday, 73% of police department personnel had received at least one dose of the vaccine, Police Commissioner Dermot Shea told WPIX-TV on Wednesday. More than 60 NYPD employees have died from COVID-19.
The New York Police Department did not provide specific answers when asked how it will manage personnel levels and public safety if a quarter of its workforce – including thousands of officers – goes on leave without pay for non-compliance. .
In response to questions, NYPD spokesman Al Baker provided a one-sentence written statement: “We will be prepared for any personnel changes due to the mandate.”
The fire department for its part, reported a vaccination rate of 68% as of Wednesday.
The department, whose paramedics and paramedics worked tirelessly in the early days of the pandemic, lost 16 workers to the virus.
A firefighters union said it was holding a rally Thursday in front of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s residence to protest the mandate.
Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said in a statement Wednesday night that the FDNY “will use all means at our disposal, including mandatory overtime, mutual aid from other EMS providers, and significant changes in service hours. our members to guarantee the continuity of operations ”.
A city attorney said affected police officers, firefighters and other city workers will receive back wages if the judge ultimately sides with the police union, which argued that the vaccine mandate is arbitrary, capricious. and an abuse of discretion.
Attorneys for the PBA, which represents some 23,000 current and former New York Police Department officers, said in court documents after Wednesday’s hearing that the vaccine mandate forces officers to choose between their careers and their personal beliefs, infringing the “right to bodily integrity” of the agents.
The PBA argued that some agents who are on leave will not be able to afford to wait for a legal fight over the mandate and will be forced to get vaccinated or find new jobs, which, it said, will mean the loss of seniority and medical benefits and benefits. city pensions.
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