NYPD Union Sues City Over COVID Vaccine Mandate Exemptions

New York City NY

29 November, 2021

1:53 PM

Description

NEW YORK CITY — The NYPD's biggest police union is taking the city to court over medical and religious exemptions to a strict COVID-19 mandate. A complaint filed Monday by Police Benevolent Association lawyers argues the city illegally limited exemptions to the mandate, which requires all city workers to get vaccinated or lose paychecks. The suit names Mayor Bill de Blasio and top NYPD brass as defendants and seeks a temporary restraining order over medical and religious exemptions. "The NYPD, in adopting the Mandate, has abandoned established reasonable accommodation policies by failing to promulgate rules or procedures designed to properly evaluate and determine requests for medical and religious exemptions," the lawsuit states. De Blasio and city officials enacted the strict vaccine mandate on Oct. 29. The only way for unvaccinated workers to stay on the job under the mandate was to file for "reasonable accommodation" — and no city employees have filed more requests than the NYPD. About 6,000 police workers have filed for such accommodations. Of those, roughly 3,900 are officers represented by the PBA, according to the lawsuit. The high number of police requests for exemptions prompted concerns that a wave of denials could leave the NYPD undermanned. But the lawsuit argues the city short-circuited accommodation procedures. "A police officer with sincerely held medical, health, or religious concerns with the vaccine will face irreparable harm if forced to submit to vaccination prior to the Court's determination whether the application, evaluation and determination process is unlawful," the lawsuit states. "These officers have rights pursuant to State and City Human Rights Law to medical autonomy and religious observance that would be violated by forcing them to submit to a vaccination. Once a vaccination occurs, it cannot be undone." De Blasio has said he expects most reviews of exemptions to be completed in the "coming weeks." A city law department spokesperson defended the mandate accommodation process. "The City's process for evaluating and providing reasonable accommodations is lawful and effective," the spokesperson said. A PBA spokesperson declined to comment on the lawsuit beyond saying it "speaks for itself." Police Benevolent Asso v Police Benevolent Asso Petition 1 by Matt Troutman on Scribd Patch writer Nick Garber contributed to this report.