During the pandemic, the New York State Unified Court System – which employs more than 15,000 staff members and 3,000 judges – issued a vaccine mandate requiring all its employees to submit proof of having taken the COVID-19 vaccine or undergo regular testing. While administrative and non-judicial employees could be fired if they failed to meet COVID requirements, judges could be referred to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct to urge disciplinary action against them.
In April 2023, a significant number of employees were fired for not having complied with the vaccine mandate. Indeed, according to a letter distributed by the New York Office of Court Administration, on account of their failure to meet the vaccine requirement, they were deemed “unfit for service”.
By decision of February 2023, the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) – a quasi-judicial agency whose mission is to promote harmonious and cooperative relationships between public employers and their represented employees by enforcing the State’s collective bargaining laws – urged the Unified Court System to immediately “cease and desist” from enforcing the vaccine mandate. The PERB also held that fired employee must be rehired and those who “lost accrued leave, compensation or employment” will have to be made “whole,” with interest paid “at the maximum legal rate”.
The decision of the PERB comes right after the New York State Unified Court System has withdrawn the vaccine requirement.
