Wayne Vaccine Mandate On Hold Following State Commission Ruling

WAYNE, NJ — The Wayne Police Benevolent Association has secured a momentary victory in their fight against the township's vaccine mandate, but it's unclear how long that W will stand.

The local PBA filed an unfair labor charge on behalf of their employees with the New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission, and the commission upheld it as of Friday. But the township has already filed a motion to undo the ruling, Northjersey.com reports.

The decision goes against what a Passaic County Judge Ernest M. Caposela wrote in an opinion upholding the mandate earlier this month.

PBA Local 136 filed the suit on behalf of "all its members", noting three police officers individually who remain unvaccinated by choice. The suit was seeking a preliminary injunction to halt the implementation of the policy, which would require all township employees to be vaccinated by Sept. 17.

It failed at the time, with Caposela saying that the mandate violated no constitutional rights, and even stating that the policy is "justified in that it is proper exercise of the police power to protect the general public welfare."

Though the PBA was able to get a favorable ruling this time, a township attorney told Northjersey.com that Wayne will continue to fight for the mandate, and a hearing is expected in the coming days.

Further, he added that in addition to going against a judge's ruling, he said the decision didn't align with state planning and measures.

"PERC, in its ruling, is contrary to what the governor is doing," Township Attorney Matthew Giacobbe told the publication.

The township issued the vaccination mandate in a letter to employees recently, stating that those who weren't vaccinated would face consequences.

"Due to the extreme danger of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, non-compliant employees will be prohibited from working within any Township buildings, facilities or in the public," the letter read. Read more: As Cases Rise, Wayne Makes Vaccinations Mandatory For Employees

From the perspective of the PBA, the vaccine mandate violated the civil rights of the police officers the union represents, and put them at risk of losing out on life insurance benefits if they were to die due to complications related to the vaccine. They also challenged whether the mandate could be implemented since it wasn't collectively bargained with the union.

Read more: Wayne Vaccine Mandate Upheld By Judge Following PBA Challenge

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