FILE – In this Feb. 18, 2021, file photo, a pharmacist prepares a syringe with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at a COVID-19 vaccination site at NYC Health + Hospitals Metropolitan in New York. States are working quickly get the coronavirus vaccine into people’s arms after last week’s icy storms, freezing temperatures and widespread power outages closed clinics and slowed vaccine deliveries nationwide. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
The New York State Supreme Court has ruled that the City of New York must rehire and provide backpay to government employees who were fired for refusing to get vaccinated against covid-19. The City Health Commissioner issued an order last October requiring all city employees to get the shot, but many refused.
A later order focused on private-sector workers.
Mayor Eric Adams signed an executive order that allowed for some people to be exempt from the rules. Today’s court ruling declares that the orders were “arbitrary and capricious,” and that the Health Commissioner violated the State Constitution.
The decision, based on court documents, suggests that first responders are not being fairly compensated for their efforts.
At one point, thousands of New York City fire fighters were at risk of losing their jobs over the vaccine mandate.
The mandate caused several protests by municipal workers.