NEW YORK (Legal Newsline) - Health care workers and a women's group are suing New York medical providers over their vaccine mandates, arguing they should be able to continue working.
Religious beliefs keep them from getting the COVID-19 vaccine, they say, and reasonable accommodations like testing and wearing a mask - or remote work - should be good enough. They filed their memorandum in support of a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction on Jan. 5 in New York County Supreme Court.
The plaintiffs are health care workers and Women of Color for Equal Justice. The workers say they were placed on leave without pay on Dec. 17 when the vaccine mandate took effect, and they run the risk of having to seek employment outside of the state if they are terminated.
"When Petitioners continued to refuse to remain unvaccinated and appealed to Respondents for a reconsideration of their request for exemption and accommodations, specifically in some situations asking for the accommodation to use a PAPR respirator mask (Powered air purifying Respirator which is 99.9% effective in prevent exposures harmful airborne particulates, specifically viruses that many Petitioners agreed to pay for themselves, Petitioners were retaliated against based on their unvaccinated status by being placed on leave without pay," the suit says.
The lawsuit makes a claim for punitive damages because the defendants have "disregarded the rights of Petitioners to be free from discrimination."
Mount Vernon lawyer Tricia Lindsay is representing the plaintiffs.