The Supreme Court of New York ordered that workers who were fired for not receiving the COVID-19 vaccine be reinstated to their positions and receive back pay.
According to the court, the vaccine is “not absolute” and the mandate “violated the petitioners’ equal protection rights as the mandate is arbitrary and capricious.”
While the court recognized the authority of the former health commissioner of the city of New York, David Chokshi, to issue public health mandates, it ruled that the commissioner can’t create new conditions of employment for city workers. Furthermore, the commissioner does not have the authority to prevent workers from reporting for duty, nor can he terminate employees.
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“Being vaccinated does not prevent an individual from contracting or transmitting Covid-19,” the court continued, citing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As a result, the court ordered that “terminated petitioners are hereby reinstated to their full employment status,” which went into effect on Tuesday.
Further, the court said that “petitioners are entitled to back pay in salary from the day of termination.”
Chokshi issued the initial vaccination mandate on Oct. 20, 2021, which required workers to supply proof of at least one dose by Oct. 29. In December 2021, the mandate was extended to the private sector. In spring 2022, however, Mayor Eric Adams issued an executive order allowing for various exemptions for private sector workers. The petitioners successfully argued that this order rendered the public sector mandate both arbitrary and capricious.
In February, New York City confirmed that it had fired more than 1,400 workers for refusing to be vaccinated.
FDNY-Firefighters Association President Andrew Ansbro and FDNY-Fire Officers Association President Lt. James McCarthy pleaded with the mayor to discuss the matter with the unions following his executive order for private sector employees.
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“We’re here to say that we support the revocation of the vaccine mandate that the mayor announced on Thursday,” McCarthy said in a March press conference. “We think that it should be extended, as well. We support the revocation of the mandate for the athletes and performers that work in New York City. We think that the people that work for New York City should also have the mandate relocated for them.”
