Vaccine mandates get hit hard! The New York Supreme Court has ordered reinstatement for all employees fired over their nonvaccinated status and ordered back pay for those who were unlawfully terminated from employment [Full pdf Ruling Here].
A judge for the Richmond County Supreme Court, Judge Ralph Porzio, has ruled that the vaccine mandates issued by the New York City Health Commissioner are unconstitutional.
The judge noted:
The vaccination mandate for City employees was not just about safety and public health;
it was about compliance. If it was about safety and public health, unvaccinated workers would have been placed on leave the moment the order was issued. If it was about safety and public health, the Health Commissioner would have issued city-wide mandates for vaccination for all. residents. In a City with a nearly 80% vaccination rate, we shouldn’t be penalizing the people who. showed up to work, at great risk to themselves and their families, while we were locked down.
The ruling permits city employees to return to work effective immediately.
According to attorney Chad Laveglia, the judge ruled “the commissioner’s order mandating private and public employees get vaccinated was arbitrary and capricious.” This is a strong rebuke to the totalitarian fiats created by state leaders including the state governor, mayor of New York City and health commissioner.
In NYC alone some 1,400 employees were fired for refusing the jab that has been shown to be dangerous to the health and wellbeing of many people. The judge’s ruling obliterates Mayor Eric Adams’ stand that he would not rehire employees who had been fired.
This ruling paves the way for other lawsuits against private employers who did the same thing. Of course, this ruling will probably be appealed. Will the state, city, etc. decide a settlement with those fired might be better than continuing litigation?
Regardless of what happens, it appears that a crack has appeared in the dam. How long before the crack spreads to other jurisdictions?