Appeals Court Orders The Vaccine Mandate To Move Forward, Removing The Temporary Hold.

 

The vaccine mandate goes forward. Teachers and NYC DOE employees who do not get at least their first vaccine shot by Friday at 5pm will go on unpaid leave for a year.

Vaccine mandate for NYC school employees can move forward, judges rule

Alex Zimmerman, Chalkbeat, Sept. 27, 2021

A federal appeals court has removed a temporary block on New York City’s vaccine mandate for education department employees, paving the way for officials to require all school staff to receive a vaccine dose or else be put on unpaid leave.

The ruling, issued by a panel of judges for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, reverses the court’s decision on Friday to block the vaccine mandate while the appeal is argued.

A hearing in the case was initially scheduled for Wednesday, with the vaccine mandate on hold in the interim. But Monday’s unexpected decision appears to allow the city to enforce its vaccine mandate immediately.

The vaccine mandate was initially scheduled to go into effect at midnight on Monday, with educators who failed to provide proof of at least one vaccine dose put on unpaid leave and barred from entering their school buildings. The mandate will now go into effect starting Monday, Oct. 4, according to Danielle Filson, an education department spokesperson. Educators will have to show proof of at least one vaccine dose by the end of the day Friday.

“Vaccinations are our strongest tool in the fight against COVID-19 — this ruling is on the right side of the law and will protect our students and staff,” Filson said in a statement.

The ruling comes on the heels of a similar ruling by a state court judge that lifted a separate temporary hold on the vaccine mandate, saying that the case would likely not be successful on the merits.

Roughly 148,000 education department employees will be subject to the mandate when it goes into effect, including about 78,000 teachers and thousands of school safety agents who work in schools and are employed by the police department.

As of Monday, officials said 87% of all education department employees have had at least one dose, including 91% of teachers and 97% of principals. That leaves about 19,000 education department staff, and 7,800 teachers, who have yet to demonstrate proof of a first dose and could be barred from schools when the mandate goes into effect.

Officials have been girding for staff shortages as a result of the mandate, since a small but significant percentage of teachers, school safety agents, and other staff remain unvaccinated. Union officials have argued the city does not have adequate plans to handle thousands of vacancies, though city officials say they have substitutes at the ready.

“The city has a lot of work before it to ensure that enough vaccinated staff will be available by the new deadline,” Michael Mulgrew, president of the city’s teachers union, said in a statement. “We will be working with our members to ensure, as far as possible, that our schools can open safely as the vaccine mandate is enforced.”

De Blasio said Monday that he expects the prospect of lost paychecks to prompt an increase in vaccination rates among education department staff, which have been incrementally rising.

“They have to make a really big decision,” de Blasio said. “[Do] they really want to give up on their kids, and the school community? Do they want to give up a paycheck? I think a lot of people, when they really think about it, are going to realize that getting vaccinated is the right thing to do.”

City and State Mandates For Employees To Get the COVID Vaccination Goes Forward

There are three branches of government in the U.S.:

• The executive branch, which includes the president and the agencies he controls;
• The legislative branch, consisting of the two houses of Congress, which are the House of Representatives and the Senate; and
• The judicial branch, which includes the Supreme Court and all the nation's federal and state courts.

On August 24, 2021, the Commissioner of Health and Mental Hygiene ordered that Department of Education employees, contractors, and others get the COVID-19 vaccination.(“the Order”)

Two cases were filed against the mandatory vaccine for NYC Department of Education employees, one in State Court and the other in Federal Court. NY State Supreme Court Judge Laurence Love first granted a temporary restraining order and then rescinded the TRO in favor of the City mandate. 

Municipal Labor Committee et. al. decision

New York State Supreme Court Judge Lawrence Love said it right: "This is uncharted territory". 

Here are the papers in the Federal case filed by the FG Legal Group:

DOE TRO Complaint DOE TRO Memo DOE TRO Order To Show Cause DOE TRO Gelormino Declaration DOE TRO Rachel Maniscalco's Declaration Amended Class Action Complaint Reply Memo (9.20.21)

For past email updates please click here.

On Monday, September 27, 2021, anyone who works for the City and does not have at least one shot of the COVID vaccine and does not have an approved exemption for health or religious reasons, will either have to take unpaid leave for a year or be terminated.

This will propel the Courts into, as Judge Love said, a new jurisdiction: having a say in what people must do to their bodies.

The individual right to freedom of choice in all matters formerly given only to medical doctors has been taken over by the  Third Branch of government.

The winners, in the short term, are the City and State governments. The long-term winners are yet to be determined. 

Betsy Combier

betsy.combier@gmail.com
Editor, Advocatz.com
Editor, NYC Rubber Room Reporter
Editor, Parentadvocates.org
Editor, New York Court Corruption
Editor, National Public Voice
Editor, NYC Public Voice
Editor, Inside 3020-a Teacher Trials

Coronavirus Update NYC: Restraining order lifted on vaccine mandate for city teachers, staff

ABC News, Sept. 22, 2021

Vaccine Mandate for NYC Teachers, Staff Can Go Forward As Judge Lifts Restraining Order

 NBC News, September 22, 2021

The judge said he initially ordered the injunction because the city's original mandate didn't say anything about medical or religious exemptions, but said the city subsequently put out language saying nothing in the mandate would prohibit accommodations that are legally required.

A vaccine mandate for New York City's public school teachers and other staffers can go forward as planned next week, after a state judge on Wednesday lifted a temporary restraining order.

The city had announced last month that school employees would have to get at least a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine by Sept. 27, impacting about 148,000 school workers and contractors.

A coalition of city unions had filed a lawsuit against the mandate and had asked for the injunction against its implementation. State Supreme Court Justice Laurence Love put the TRO in place last week, but removed it in his ruling on Wednesday.

In a statement, the Department of Education said the ruling was “a big win for New York City children and Department of Education employees. Their health and safety is at the very core of this vaccine mandate, and we are pleased the court recognized the city’s legal authority.”

The officials with the unions said they intended to continue the legal action.

“We are deeply disappointed that the temporary injunction has been lifted," Henry Garrido, executive director of DC 37, said in a statement. “This is not the end of the road and we will continue to fight for the right of workers to make their own healthcare decisions."

The president of the Municipal Labor Committee, the group that filed the lawsuit against the mandate to begin with, said in a statement that their case "has already led to progress in protecting the rights of our members, since the city – in the wake of the court’s initial issuance of the restraining order – admitted that there can be exceptions to the vaccine mandate. The court -- while lifting the restraining order -- has not made a final decision, and we are preparing additional material to support our case."

When asked for comment, the United Federation of Teachers — the largest teachers union in the city — referred to the statement made by the Municipal Labor Committee, which they are a part of.

Love said he had initially ordered the injunction because the city's original mandate didn't say anything about medical or religious exemptions, but said the city subsequently put out language saying nothing in the mandate would prohibit accommodations that are legally required.

On Sept. 10, the city and the union representing teachers in the country's largest school district came to an agreement through an arbitrator on those teachers unwilling to get vaccinated, such as those with medical and religious exemptions. It was agreed that those educators must be offered alternative work assignments.

Non-classroom work will be offered to educators with specific medical conditions who have not been vaccinated, but also to vaccinated teachers who have suppressed immune systems, the arbitrator ruled.

Teachers who decline to vaccinate against COVID-19 and do not qualify for an exemption will be offered unpaid leave through September 2022 -- their medical insurance will still be covered. All staff who refuse unpaid leave can take a severance package instead, or face discipline, the union said at the time.

The judge said that removed the need for the injunction, and also doubted the unions' ultimately being able to succeed in their claim that their due process rights were being violated.

“The state and federal courts have consistently held that a mandatory vaccine requirement does not violate substantive due process rights and properly fall within the state’s police power," Love wrote.

Parents in the city seemed to agree with the judge's decision Wednesday night.

"I do think it's fair. It makes me feel my son's safer and we'll have more continuity in his teachers if they get sick," said parent Marcia Stern.

Even those who disagree with the finding found the logic behind the decision.

"I think it's unfair, but I also think it could protect them at the same time," said parent Randy Vazquez.

More than 80 percent of teachers have already been vaccinated, according to union estimates.

Middle school teacher Asa Henry said that allowing "the government to just be able to mandate anything, anytime, it sets a really bad precedent in the future," which is why he understood the reason for the unions' displeasure at it. However, he also said that keeping his daughter safe is the priority.

The ruling comes after New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio made tweaks to school COVID policy, a week after the nation's largest public school district opened its doors fully in person for the first time since the pandemic hit -- and a day after one Manhattan school announced it had to go all-remote because of an outbreak.

The two changes announced Monday involve testing and quarantine procedures and will take effect simultaneously on Sept. 27, which is also the deadline for city public school teachers and staff to have at least their first shot of the vaccine.

Starting then, schools will conduct randomized weekly testing, rather than biweekly testing, at all public elementary, middle and high schools citywide.

The mayor also said the city will shift its school quarantine approach to align with the CDC. Under that guidance, when there is a positive case in a single classroom, the unvaccinated students in that classroom will not have to quarantine if, and only if, they have been masked and keeping at least 3 feet of distance.

The Democrat said the adjustments were born from city officials' assessment of the first week of in-person classes for nearly a million students and how COVID policy could be improved going forward given the ongoing delta variant threat.

"The goal is always two crucial things -- first and foremost the health and safety of our kids and our whole school community, second maximizing the number of kids in school every day, avoiding disruption, giving our kids a chance to make that comeback that we know we're going to make this year," de Blasio said.

In an information session for UFT chapter leaders held Wednesday, union president Michael Mulgrew asked five yes or no questions regarding de Blasio's new COVID quarantine policy. The answers overwhelmingly showed frustration with the new decisions, including 98 percent of the 1,200 members present saying that the mayor has no clue what is happening inside of schools, and that neither de Blasio nor the city's Department of Education has a plan to keep the children in schools safe.

Copyright NBC New York/Associated Press

Teachers at War Against NYC Department of Education's Mandate That Employees Must Get Vaxxed by Sept. 27 2021

 

A teacher protesting COVID-19 vaccination mandates in New York City schools on August 25, 2021.

AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

A new war has started.

The Department of Education has a mandate that all unvaccinated staffers who do not have at least one shot against COVID-19 by September 27 will be removed from payroll, no exceptions - medical or religious - will be allowed.

Teachers have hired a lawyer to fight this.

See here:

Vaccine Mandate Litigation Information

If you work for the Department and have issues with getting the COVID vaccine, call them.

Betsy Combier
betsy.combier@gmail.com
Editor, Advocatz.com
Editor, NYC Rubber Room Reporter
Editor, Parentadvocates.org
Editor, New York Court Corruption
Editor, National Public Voice
Editor, NYC Public Voice
Editor, Inside 3020-a Teacher Trials

UFT President Michael Mulgrew

NYC teachers union ready for war over demand to pull all unvaxxed from payroll

by Selim Algar, NY POST, September 2, 2021

The United Federation of Teachers is gearing up for a war with the city over the fate of more than 15,000 educators who have yet to receive the COVID-19 vaccination — with classes set to begin in days.

Teachers union chief Michael Mulgrew said Thursday that City Hall has vowed to remove all unvaccinated staffers from payroll without exception — including those with religious or medical objections.

“Our impact negotiations with the city have gone to a very bad place,” Mulgrew told reporters after a Town Hall with members. “It’s clear that the two sides are very very far apart when it comes to this vaccine mandate.”

The union said it would now seek to arbitrate the issue along with other labor groups.

While he has consistently urged members to get the shot, Mulgrew said the city’s position was unreasonably rigid — especially for those with legitimate medical concerns.

The union chief said that staffers who are allergic to the jabs or have compromised immune systems should not be financially penalized.

“The city’s position is to remove them from payroll.” he said. “That is disgusting as far as I’m concerned. And it does not follow the law. The law says that these accommodations and exemptions have to be in place.”

The UFT said the city’s policy would also strip unvaccinated teachers of their health insurance.

During his meeting with members, Mulgrew focused on religious and medical accommodations.

But he later told The Post that the procedure for teachers who don’t receive either exemption but still refuse the vaccine is still being negotiated.

While he was confident that more teachers would get vaccinated ahead of the school year, which begins on Sept. 13, Mulgrew acknowledged the specter of staffing shortages — and said the city has not adequately prepared for those contingencies.

Schools Chancellor Meisha Ross-Porter reiterated this week that substitutes could be marshaled if necessary.

In backing the vaccine mandate for all public school workers, Mayor Bill de Blasio has argued that it would help to combat outbreaks and minimize school interruptions.

“We know this is going to help ensure that everyone is safe,” he said in announcing the plan.

Some union factions have demanded blanket vaccinations, arguing that those who don’t get the shot are putting their colleagues and others at risk.

DOE staffers have until September 27 to get their first shot and an agency spokesperson said that an accord is within reach.

“The health and safety of New York City children and the protection of our employees is at the core of the vaccine mandate,” said spokesperson Danielle Filson. “We will continue to negotiate with the UFT to reach a successful agreement because that is what’s best for our school communities.”

As of last week, the city said that 72 percent of city teachers and 63 percent of all school staffers are confirmed to have been vaccinated.

The city has said that the number of vaccinated teachers is likely higher than the official numbers because many have gotten the shot through private doctors or out of town.

The UFT estimated the number of jabbed educators to be 80 percent.

Mulgrew acknowledged during the Town Hall that the vaccine mandate has riven his ranks, and asked members to dial down the internal rancor — especially on social media.

“Please be respectful of each other,” he said in urging unity ahead of the new academic year.