Another lawsuit filed against NYS medical worker vaccine mandate
by J.T. Fetch September 23rd 2021
NYSCOPBA members file lawsuit against NYS medical worker vaccine mandate
The legal fight against the state's vaccine mandates is ramping up, as Governor Kathy Hochul's deadline for healthcare workers across the state to get the shot approaches.
(WRGB) — The legal fight against the state's vaccine mandates is ramping up, as overnor Kathy Hochul's deadline for healthcare workers across the state o get the shot approaches.
Another lawsuit has been filed, this one by the union representing state hospital security workers, NYSCOPBA.
It comes after a judge last week temporarily blocked the state of New York from forcing medical workers to be vaccinated after a group of health care workers sued, saying their Constitutional rights were violated.
This latest lawsuit was filed in federal court by nine members of NYSCOPBA who are subject to the mandate, as they provide security in state-run hospitals.
The suit is asking a federal judge in the Northern District of New York to declare the state's vaccine mandate unconstitutional, and also to issue a temporary restraining order and injunctions to stop the state from enforcing the requirement.
However, in Rochester Wednesday, the Governor said she would not be budging on the mandate set to take effect on the 27th. the Governor's message to those who won't get the shot: "we will be replacing people."
CBS 6’s Anne McCloy spoke with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) about these mandates:
"It's not like this is a vaccine-less population that all of a sudden we're asking them to do something that we've never asked them to do. This is the norm, it's not outside of the norm and the FDA has said these vaccines are safe, they are effective, and I just think it's too high of a risk to be unvaccinated and be in front of the most vulnerable population. So we should require vaccination,” said Sen. Gillibrand.
Senator Gillibrand compared this to her own family, and how her children are required to have certain vaccinations in order to attend school.
The lead attorney on the NYSCOPBA case is Dennis Vacco, a former New York State Attorney General and U.S. Attorney for New York's Western District.