WASHINGTON — A group of New York City teachers sought to block the mandate regarding vaccines for employees not covered by a religious exemption. The Supreme Court denied Friday’s request.
The appeal was made to Justice Sonia Sotomayor who deals with cases in that area. An earlier challenge to the city’s vaccination mandate was rejected by her in October. The court follows its usual procedure and rejected the latest appeal of teachers.
Sotomayor didn’t ask the city for a reply, which is another indication that Sotomayor’s request for an injunction would fail.
This week’s emergency appeal argued that the city violated the religious freedom of school staff by refusing to accept their reasons for seeking an exemption. According to the city’s policy, requests must include support by a religious official. This disqualifies employees not belonging to a particular religious group.
Employees who have been publicly supportive of the vaccination have had their exemption requests denied. This means that objections will not be honored by many Catholics due to the endorsement of vaccinations by the pope, according to the appeal.
Many employees, including school staff, teachers, and supervisors, were told that they would be fired if the vaccine was not received by February 14. They also had to agree to stay on leave with no pay and drop any objections to the policy.
