BROOKLYN, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) - Mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations are at the center of a new class action lawsuit against New York City.
Rachel Maniscalco filed a complaint on September 10 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York against the New York City Department of Education, Meisha Porter, in her capacity as Schools Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, the City of New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and Dave A. Chokshi, its commissioner.
According to the complaint, Plaintiff and members of the class are New York City public school teachers who are at risk of losing their livelihoods, their health insurance, and their ability to pursue their profession under a New York City Executive Order announced on August 23, 2021, stating that they must have at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination by September 27, 2021.
Unlike the vaccine mandate for federal workers announced on September 9, 2021, the August 23 Order includes no provision for DOE workers to opt out of the mandate through testing. Any teachers who do not comply stand to lose their health benefits, their jobs, or their seniority, the suit says. The plaintiffs allege that this goes against the Due Process Clause which limits what the government may do in both its legislative and its executive capacities.
Maniscalco and the class seek damages, investigation costs, attorney's fees, declaratory relief and injunctive relief. They are represented by Mark J. Fonte.
U.S. District Court Eastern District of New York case number 1:21-cv-05055-BMC