REMARKS
Council member Ariola addresses inequities in vaccine mandate cases
0:41:33
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133 sec
Council Member Ariola raises concerns about inequities in the Law Department's handling of vaccine mandate cases, particularly regarding city workers who were terminated or left their jobs due to the mandate.
- She mentions that judges have deemed the mandate 'arbitrary and capricious'
- Ariola highlights inconsistencies in allowing some workers to return while others cannot
- She asks for a commitment to equity and protection of civil rights for all city employees
Joann Ariola
0:41:33
And congratulations on being put forth.
0:41:36
I'd like to talk about some inequities that I have found with the law department, especially in cases regarding, the de Blasio administration mandates, the vaccine mandates in particular.
0:41:50
This is a mandate that has now been deemed arbitrary and capricious by judges across the city and the state, but thousands of our city workers are still not back at their jobs.
0:42:00
Some were terminated, some retired, and others, were, left their jobs because of not wanting to take the vaccine for religious and medical reasons.
0:42:13
And you said in your testimony, which made me very hopeful, that you are here to follow the rule of law and civil rights of people.
0:42:21
Yet, time after time, these people, the the people who work for our city, have won their cases, won their article 78, and yet the city continues to appeal these cases and spending taxpayer dollars to appeal cases that they're losing.
0:42:40
Now once those cases are lost, some members are being allowed to come back to work and others are not, and yet they're similarly situated.
0:42:50
When they win their Article 78, they're not they're not allowed to come back, yet others do and no reasons are given.
0:42:59
And we've been in touch with the law department about this, and I know that you've you've been there.
0:43:03
So I'm hoping that you could say to me and make a commitment to me that under your leadership that there would be equity, that that there would not be some members who are similarly situated.
0:43:16
1, there there's article 70 eights to come back to work by a judge lawfully who followed the rule of law would be able to come back to work.
0:43:26
There's also waivers that some peep employees were made to sign and others not.
0:43:31
So what I'm asking you is that will under your leadership, will there be more equity and protection of civil rights for every single civil servant that works for the city of New York?
