NYPD Police Union Files Lawsuit Against COVID Vaccine Mandate

NEW YORK CITY — A sweeping coronavirus vaccine mandate for New York City municipal workers with no opt-out option faces a legal challenge from the NYPD's largest union.

Police Benevolent Association lawyers filed a lawsuit in Staten Island court to halt the mandate scheduled to take effect Friday.

The petition argues the strict rule — which places city workers on unpaid leave so long as they don't comply — shouldn't apply to NYPD officers.

"Hardworking police officers who put their lives on the line for this City throughout the pandemic, and who are willing to continue the Vax or Test policy in the interim, should not have to suffer the loss of their pay and hard-earned benefits simply for declining a new vaccine while the validity and enforceability of the Vaccine Mandate is subject to litigation," the petition states.

A legal challenge from a police union appeared likely as soon as Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the mandate last week.

NYPD employees are roughly 70 percent vaccinated against COVID-19 — a rate that places the department in the bottom 10 of city agencies.

The legal challenge argues that the city's current vaccine-or-weekly test rule is sufficient to protect the public against the coronavirus. It also argues that roughly a third of NYPD officers have "natural immunity" and shouldn't be forced to get a vaccine.

But medical experts overwhelmingly agree that "natural immunity" isn't as effective as the coronavirus vaccines. A recent CDC study found unvaccinated individuals are more than twice as likely to be reinfected with COVID-19 than those who were fully vaccinated.

The police union's lawsuit asks a judge to temporarily halt the mandate until the issue is litigated.

The city has prevailed in previous lawsuits over vaccine mandates.

De Blasio on Monday repeated that officials have "contingencies" in place for the NYPD and other city departments with large numbers of unvaccinated workers. He said the mandate itself likely will boost vaccination rates.

“We’ve seen the mandates move a lot more people to get vaccinated,” he said.