On September 14, 2021, a federal judge temporarily blocked the enforcement of New York’s vaccine mandate for healthcare workers seeking a religious exemption to the requirement. The mandate requires covered entities to ensure their personnel are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with the first dose for current personnel received by September 27, 2021, for general hospitals and nursing homes, and by October 7, 2021, for all other covered entities and eliminated the religious exemption.
District Court Judge David N. Hurd of the Northern District of New York granted a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) barring the New York State Department of Health (“DOH”) from enforcing the vaccine mandate to the extent that it requires that any employers deny religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccination or that they revoke any exemptions employers already granted before the mandate was issued.
The TRO was granted as a result of a lawsuit filed on September 13, 2021. The lawsuit alleged that the vaccine mandate violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments, the Supremacy Clause, and the Equal Protection Clause of the US Constitution. A hearing will be held on September 28, 2021, on whether to block the vaccine requirement from taking effect pending the outcome of the case.
Notably, the TRO only prevents the DOH from enforcing the vaccine mandate to the extent that it bars consideration or granting of religious exemption requests. Accordingly, healthcare employers must adhere to all remaining requirements of the vaccine mandate.
We will continue to monitor developments closely and will keep you updated. If you have any questions about the COVID-19 vaccine mandates or any other employment related questions, please contact ALG.