U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor declined a request Friday night from NYC teachers to block the city's vaccine mandate. As Ariane de Vogue wrote for CNN, the justice "did not refer the request to the other Supreme Court justices, or comment on her action, likely signaling they agreed with her decision." This is not the first time the Court has refused to provide such relief. In August, Justice Amy Coney Barrett rejected a request from students at Indiana University to block the school's vaccine mandate. Justice Barrett likewise did not refer it to the other justices.
Teachers who have not received at least one dose by this Friday at 5:00 pm will be replaced, according to an interview Mayor Bill de Blasio gave with Spectrum 1. "If you have not gotten that first dose by Friday, 5 p.m., we will assume you are not coming to work on Monday and you will not be paid starting Monday and we will fill your role with a substitute or an alternative employee," the mayor said.
"BREAKING NEWS: @NYCMayor on @InsideCityHall says Department of Education staff have until 5 p.m. on Friday to get their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, after a federal appeals panel ruled the vaccine mandate can go forward. #NY1Politics pic.twitter.com/Qab6VD2D6h
— Spectrum News NY1 (@NY1) September 27, 2021
The vaccine mandate is set to go into effect on Monday. One particularly objectionable part of the mandate is that there is no testing option alternative. As de Vogue included in her reporting:
The lawyers argued that instead of allowing teachers the opportunity to opt out of the vaccine mandate through weekly testing, the city's mandate "forces unvaccinated public-school employees to go on unpaid leave for nearly a year."
The challengers in the case gave different reasons for not wanting to get the vaccine including a concern over the long-term effects of the vaccine. They say the mandate "threatens the education of thousands of children in the largest public-school system in the country and violates the substantive due process and equal protection rights afforded to all public-school employees."
A federal district court had declined to block the mandate holding that it "represents a rational policy decision surrounding how best to protect children during a global pandemic."
The court said that although there are other means of preventing the spread of Covid 19, "it is not shocking for the City to conclude that vaccination is the best way to do so, particularly at a time when viral transmission rates are high."
The NYC Department of Education (DOE) was in quite the celebratory mood about Justice Sotomayor declining to stop the mandate, as well as that 90 percent of employees had been vaccinated as of Friday.
NEWS: Justice Sonia Sotomayor has denied the request for an emergency injunction against @NYCSchools vaccine mandate. We were at 90% employees vaccinated today, will share final numbers Monday!
— Danielle Filson (@DanielleFilson) October 1, 2021
Mayor de Blasio has not only sought to put unvaccinated teachers and school employees out of a job, but to make it difficult to do much else for others who are unvaccinated. "If you want to participate in our city fully, you've got to get vaccinated," the mayor said in August, as Spencer reported. That mandate requires at least partial vaccination and applies to indoor dining, fitness, entertainment, and other activities.
It's not just the city of New York, but New York state as well, which has been making headlines for these mandates. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) signaled she would deploy the National Guard, as Spencer reported, to make up for any hospital staff shortages faced as a result of health care workers being fired for not getting vaccinated. And, as Leah reported, Hochul has an executive order in mind, allowing healthcare workers from other states or countries to practice.
The vaccine mandate for DOE had been through various court channels. While courts did initially grant temporary relief, as the Manhattan Supreme Court and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit did, those courts ultimately lifted their orders granting such relief.
New York @GovKathyHochul denies the legitimacy of religious exemptions: "There are not legitimate religious exemptions because the leaders of all the organized religions have said there's no legitimate reason." pic.twitter.com/Mzw8CsBIpR
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) September 27, 2021
There is still ongoing legal activity, however. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) may stick her nose up at those claiming religious exemptions from the vaccine, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit takes a different view. A temporary and partial injunction against the governor's mandate for health care workers, according to NBC New York.