NYC Teacher Vaccine Rule Holds as Judge Again Declines to Bar It
U.S. Judge Again Declines to Block NYC Teachers Vaccine Mandate
(Bloomberg) -- A federal judge again declined to block New York City’s requirement that teachers and other school employees receive vaccinations against Covid-19 or face suspension.
U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni on Tuesday ruled against two groups of school employees seeking to halt enforcement of the requirement against them on religious grounds. Caproni in October ruled against a claim that the vaccine mandate is unconstitutional on its face. The federal appeals court in Manhattan also ruled against the employees’ constitutional claim.
The employees, who are on leave without pay because they declined to be vaccinated, were denied reinstatement by an arbitrator. A citywide appeals panel upheld the denial, except for ordering reinstatement of one of them.
The employees’ claims are part of a wave of litigation across the country over the legality of vaccination mandates by governments and private employers struggling to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Here the biggest school district in the U.S. is facing off against assertions of individual liberty.
In denying the injunction request on Tuesday, Caproni ruled that the workers aren’t threatened with irreparable harm, as their suspension without pay can be remedied later with money damages if they succeed on the merits of their claim. But she also found that they’re not likely to succeed, another requirement for an injunction.
The case is Kane v. De Blasio, 21-cv-08773, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan).
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