New York is set to fire roughly 3,000 public city workers from their jobs by Friday if they still do not comply with a mandate that requires them to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
While the number represents about 1% of the entire 370,000-person workforce in the city and includes teachers, firefighters, and police officers, the mass firing will mark an unprecedented move by city officials. The city has imposed one of the most sweeping vaccine mandates in the United States.
Plans To Terminate Roughly 3,000 City Workers
In an address during a news conference last week, New York City Mayor Eric Adams detailed the approaching firing, noting that the majority of city workers complied with the mandate. He said that rules are needed for complex cities like New York.
Officials imposed the vaccine mandate last year under the administration of former Mayor Bill de Blasio. City workers were required to get their coronavirus vaccine shots by the end of October or they could be placed on unpaid leave. Furthermore, new workers who started with their jobs after Aug. 2, 2021, were required to comply with the requirement and show proof of vaccination, as per ABC News.
Additionally, more city workers could lose their jobs due to the vaccine mandate as city officials received 13,044 religious and medical accommodation requests for a vaccine exemption. Roughly 54% of the applications have been processed with 2,118 approved and 4,912 denied, based on City Hall data.
The remaining applications are still being reviewed, which means that there is still a chance more people can be denied their exemptions and could be fired from their jobs if they do not comply with the vaccine mandate. The initial 3,000 workers set to be fired are those who declined to apply for a medical or religious exemption or have already been denied one.
Gothamist reported that Adams argued that the issue was not about terminating public city workers but regarding vaccination. He said that authorities wanted people to be vaccinated against the virus to prevent another shutdown across the city.
Vaccine Mandate Deadline
Adams said that his administration will continue with the termination process amid legal objections and a slew of public protests against the vaccine mandate. One of the demonstrators, identified as New York Fire Department (FDNY) paramedic Carin Rosado, said she would most likely be forced out of the city and her job of 10 years.
The 33-year-old frontline worker said in an interview that she was about to lose her apartment and her car. Without a job, she said that she will not be able to afford to live in New York City anymore. However, she said that she was protesting because it was worth it to fight for her "freedom."
Adams argued that the termination was not about "firing" employees and insisted that workers were "quitting" by choice. The New York City mayor said that workers had the responsibility to follow the rules when they get hired for the job. He said that if people did not follow the requirements, they were the ones making the decision, the New York Post reported.
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