UPDATE Municipal Labor Unions’ TRO Denied
Important update regarding the DEA’s legal challenges to the Citywide Vaccine Mandate, and, in particular, the City’s plan to terminate those unvaccinated members currently on Leave Without Pay (“LWOP”) status.
The DEA — along with 30 other municipal labor unions (including all five NYPD uniformed unions) — filed a lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court, New York County, challenging the summary termination that was recently announced by the City of unvaccinated workers already on LWOP status. Immediately upon filing the lawsuit, the attorneys representing the DEA filed an additional motion seeking a temporary restraining order (TRO) to extend the Friday, February 11, 2022 deadline for these terminations. Justice Judy Kim has been assigned to the case. On February 10, 2022 the TRO was denied.
The lawsuit seeks to prevent the City from terminating any employees on the grounds that any such termination violates several sections of the New York State Civil Service Law, the unions’ collective bargaining agreements, and our members’ rights to due process of law. Although the DEA currently only has four (4) members on LWOP, that number will very likely rise as members’ requests for reasonable accommodations, and any subsequent appeals, are decided in the coming weeks. The issues raised in our suit are therefore vitally important in protecting all of our members’ rights.
However, the DEA has commenced a Petition in Supreme Court, New York County, under Articles 63 and 75 of the CPLR in which we are demanding an expedited arbitration for those DEA members who are presently in LWOP status and who face separation from service on February 11, 2022. We have also asked the Court to prevent the City during the pendency of the arbitration from separating the DEA members from service who are presently in LWOP status. The unprecedented manner in which the City and the Department is seeking to summarily “terminate” or “separate” our members is unfair, a violation of our collective bargaining agreement, and must be arbitrated by the City before they separate any of our members. This is an issue affecting not only those members on LWOP status, and not just limited to the vaccine mandate, but could affect all of our members moving forward.
We will continue to pursue all avenues under the law to ensure our members’ rights are protected. We will keep you advised of all developments in these matters as soon as they occur.
Paul DiGiacomo
And the DEA Board of Officers
