New York will remove mandatory Covid vaccine for city employees

New York City will this week end mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for city employees, ending a policy that has at times pitted city administration against its workforce.

The decree, which generated numerous lawsuits, should end on Friday (10), after the city’s Health Council adopts changes in the vaccination policy, informed the city hall in a press release.

“With more than 96% of city workers and more than 80% of New Yorkers having received their primary series of Covid-19 vaccines and more readily available tools to keep us healthy, the timing is right for this decision.” , Democratic Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement.

“I continue to urge all New Yorkers to get vaccinated, get booster shots and take the necessary steps to protect themselves and those around them from Covid-19,” he added.

In addition, visitors to Department of Education school buildings will no longer be required to prove they have received at least one dose of the vaccine, the statement said.

However, the approximately 1,780 municipal workers who were fired for failing to comply with the decree will not be automatically reinstated and will have to reapply for their old jobs, the city said.

Former Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the Covid-19 vaccine requirement for all city workers in the summer of 2021 and it took effect in September. Employees who did not comply with the obligation or did not submit to the weekly test for Covid-19 ran the risk of losing their jobs.

At the time, the policy faced opposition from the city’s police and fire unions, who saw the requirement as an intrusion into personal health decisions.

In addition, a New York state judge reinstated 16 sanitation workers who failed to serve their mandate, saying the order to be vaccinated violated the New York Constitution’s doctrine of separation of powers, was arbitrary and capricious, and violated equal protection. of dismissed workers and due process rights.

In early November, Judge Sonia Sotomayor rejected a group request that sought to block New York City’s vaccine requirement for city workers who had religious objections to the vaccine.

Late last year, Adams ended similar vaccine ordinances for student athletes and private sector employees, keeping the requirement for municipal workers in place.