Mayor De Blasio’s COVID-19 injection mandate for the NYC Department of Education was planned to go into effect Monday 9/27.
But lawsuits from DOE employees delayed the mandate’s enforcement.
On Monday, DOE employees fighting for their medical freedom of choice received dreadful news that a federal appeals court dissolved their injunction.
Originally, a three-judge panel was expected to hear the case.
But the case was dismissed on Monday.
#BREAKING Federal appeals court allows NYC's vaccine mandate for teachers and Dept. of Education staff to move forward as planned, after two temporary injunctions put it on hold https://t.co/DRUe9LgNar
— NBC New York (@NBCNewYork) September 27, 2021
Upon the court’s decision to uphold the mandate, De Blasio announced DOE employees had until Friday 10/1 to comply.
Non-compliance would result in dismissal and without unemployment benefits.
https://twitter.com/atlasshrugs/status/1442959824078053379
#NEW NYC's vaccine mandate will go into effect Monday, Oct. 4, Mayor Bill de Blasio says, giving teachers and Dept. of Education staff until end of Friday to get COVID vaccinationhttps://t.co/kigwWAv3Ey
— NBC New York (@NBCNewYork) September 27, 2021
From NBC New York:
Hours before New York City’s vaccination mandate for Department of Education employees was scheduled to begin, federal judges ruled in the city’s favor and dissolved the temporary block that kept the city’s order on ice.
A three-judge panel had been scheduled to hear the case Wednesday, almost a week after the court granted a temporary injunction from a long judge on Friday. Instead, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan issued its ruling Monday evening, in a move that shocked many, dissolving Friday’s injunction and denying the original motion.
After an adverse ruling from a Brooklyn judge, a group of teachers had brought the case to the appeals court, which assigned the three-judge panel to hear oral arguments. But the appeals panel issued its order after written arguments were submitted by both sides.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said later in the evening that the vaccine mandate will go into effect on Monday, Oct. 4 — meaning that all school employees have until the end of day on Friday to get the necessary vaccination, if they haven’t done so already.
The city’s DOE cheered the judges’ ruling.
“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,” said DOE spokeswoman Danielle Filson.
But the city’s largest teachers union wasn’t so quick to celebrate the new developments. In a statement, the United Federation of Teachers said that while the city’s estimates had 97 percent of teachers being vaccinated, a recent union survey showed “only about one-third (of UFT chapter leaders) believe that as of now their schools can open without disruption, given the potential shortage of unvaccinated personnel.
“The city has a lot of work before it to ensure that enough vaccinated staff will be available by the new deadline,” the statement from UFT President Michael Mulgrew read. “We will be working with out members to ensure, as far as possible, that our schools can open safely as the vaccine mandate is enforced.”
But Teachers for Choice hasn’t relented in their fight for medical freedom.
The group petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to suspend the COVID-19 injection mandate.
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1443664309494636549
https://twitter.com/SCUBA2024/status/1443935796344631300
https://twitter.com/kr3at/status/1443698791912288258
NYC teachers have until 5P today to get their first dose of the vaccine, or they won't be paid. Teachers are asking the Supreme Court to intervene 💉👨🏽⚖️📚
— 103.5 KTU (@1035KTU) October 1, 2021
Should the Supreme Court hear the case, it will have major ramifications on COVID-19 injection mandates for school districts across the country.
In deep-blue California, the San Diego Unified School Board passed a mandate on staff and eligible students.
However, a Supreme Court ruling in favor of NYC Teachers for Choice could lead to a major legal battle on the Pacific Coast.
The Post Millennial reported:
A group of teachers in New York City have formally asked the Supreme Court of the United States to take up the case surrounding their impending vaccine mandate, which is set to expire soon.
On Tuesday, federal judges lifted the injunction against the vaccine mandate for the city’s teachers. As of tomorrow, Friday at 5 PM, school employees need to have had their COVID shot.
In the early pages of the petition, the authors argue that other vaccine mandates allow for an opt-out through weekly COVID testing.
“If permitted to take effect, the August 23 Order will force thousands of unvaccinated public-school employees to lose their jobs-while other municipal employees, including those who have significant contact with children, are allowed to opt-out of the vaccine mandate through weekly COVID-19 testing,” it says. The petition further argues that Bill de Blasio “in consultation with all of the other Respondents, announced that DOE employees would no longer be able to opt out of the vaccine mandate through weekly COVID-19 tests.”
It was last month on the 23rd of August that New York City Mayor de Blasio came down with his order — if you work for the Department of Education, you’ll need to have your COVID vaccine. The original wording of the announcement set September 27th as the deadline.
But the pushback in the court system led to this week’s Supreme Court ultimatum. NYC teacher groups reacted not only with litigation, but also street-side protests in support of educator’s rights to keep their job.
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