A Manhattan Supreme Court judge temporarily blocked the city’s vaccine mandate for Department of Education employees.
The directive from Mayor Bill de Blasio required education workers to get at least their first dose by Sept. 27 or be fired.
Judge Laurence L. Love issued the temporary restraining order after a number of New York City’s major municipal unions sued the city over De Blasio’s mandate. The judge set a Sept. 22 court date for the unions to make their case against the mandate.
Henry Garrido, as Executive Director of District Council 37, one of the petitioners in the suit, hailed Tuesday’s decision.
“While we do believe our members should get the vaccine, we do not believe it should be a condition of employment,” Garrido said in a statement.
“Clearly, the courts agree. The fight is not over, but we are energized by this decision and ready to keep going on behalf of our members.”
But a City Hall spokesperson downplayed the significance of the decision, saying that based on the ruling there “is no delay” in the mandate’s implementation.
“New York City’s education worker vaccine mandate, which has been embraced by the White House, goes into effect on September 27. The court’s action today expires on September 22,” the spokesperson said. (New York Post)
NYC court temporarily blocks City Hall's DOE vaccine mandate https://t.co/MrHY42aHvS pic.twitter.com/3aG8FeNrTs
— New York Post (@nypost) September 15, 2021
On Monday, thousands of educators, parents, staff, and others protested the vaccine mandate on DOE workers in New York City in a demonstration organized by Teachers for Choice. Both De Blasio and President Biden were targets of their anger, and many chanted "f*** Joe Biden" during the protest.
The judge’s order came hours after a federal judge in New York temporarily halted a vaccine mandate on healthcare workers in the state.
