Judge Extends Ban on State Vaccine Mandate Enforcement in Health Care

September 24, 2021

An upstate judge has extended a temporary ban on the state’s ability to enforce vaccine mandates for health care workers seeking religious exemptions, though it may not be the reprieve some employees hope for.

Employers can still seek to carry out their own mandates in the meantime, legal experts said, and determine whether to grant or deny religious exemptions on an individual basis.

While employers under normal labor law are required to review requests for exemptions based on religion, they are only required to make a good-faith effort to accommodate employees whose objections are deemed legitimate.

“The argument I expect the state to make is that allowing unvaccinated employees in the health care setting will pose a direct threat to the safety to the employee or others in the workplace,” said Domenique Camacho Moran, labor and employment attorney at Farrell Fritz in Uniondale.

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