COVID vaccine mandate for New York City workers ends, unions pushing for back pay
NEW YORK -- New York City employees are no longer required to be vaccinated against COVID.
The city's mandate for public workers ended Friday, after nearly 2,000 municipal workers were let go during the pandemic because they refused to be vaccinated.
Monday, Mayor Eric Adams said the shot would become optional since 96% of the city workforce is vaccinated.
While those workers could be rehired, the process for receiving back pay for the time they were gone is easier said than done. The mayor said employees will not receive back pay.
"I recognize that it's unfair, and it seems that way," said labor lawyer Jon Bell, who believes Adams is acting within the law. "The city of New York is an employer just like a private sector employer, and their laws don't actually have to make sense."
In September, responding to pressure to get the economy back up and running, Adams made the shot optional for those working for private employers. He lifted the mandate for professional athletes in March.
The police and firefighters union sued, saying public employees were unfairly singled out. Now, they're fighting for back pay.
"We're suing to have back pay for all the members put on leave without pay. One of the litigations is that it was illegal, it was a punishment and there weren't given due process," said Uniformed Fire Officers Association President James McCarthy.
"The job is only half done. We call on the City to ensure that our members who were fired or had their employment unfairly impacted are reinstated, with back pay and without condition," Police Benevolent Association President Pat Lynch said in a statement.
"It's preposterous and I definitely never want to see this again. So for me this is a big win but it's not the end of the fight and I personally won't stop fighting until everybody gets the opportunity to get their jobs back and that we have it in writing that this can never happen to us again," said Sophy Medina, a firefighter.
Dr. Martine Hackett, a public health researcher at Hofstra University, said the decision to drop the vaccine mandate shows we're past the pandemic's emergency phase. Hackett still recommends getting the initial shot and a booster.
"We have to realize that we are in a much different situation than we were three years ago to the extent that there are more people protected due to being vaccinated," said Hackett.
The New York City Council's Common-Sense Caucus said Adams' decision to end the mandate rights the wrongs of the de Blasio administration's "misguided pandemic policies."
