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NYC Police Union Sues City Over Vaccine Mandate + More
NYC Police Union Sues City Over Vaccine Mandate
New York City‘s largest police union filed a lawsuit against the city Monday in an effort to overturn a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for its members.
The Police Benevolent Association (PBA) filed the suit in Staten Island Supreme Court and plans to file a request for a temporary injunction preventing the city from imposing the mandate while the lawsuit is pending.
The PBA said the mandate violates its members’ right to make their own medical decisions.
Raytheon Warns of Worker Losses as Companies Impose Vaccine Mandate
Raytheon Technologies’ (RTX.N) top boss warned on Tuesday the U.S. aerospace and defense firm will lose ‘several thousand’ employees who refused to take COVID-19 vaccines, as it prepares to meet the Biden administration‘s Jan. 1 deadline for immunization.
“We will lose several thousand people,” Raytheon Chief Executive Greg Hayes said in a CNBC interview on Tuesday, adding that staff hiring was underway. The company has a total of 125,000 U.S. employees.
GOP Doctors Caucus Warns Biden Healthcare Vaccine Mandate Could Worsen Patient Care, Labor Shortages
The GOP Doctors Caucus sent a pair of letters to President Biden and the director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) warning a vaccine mandate for healthcare workers could worsen patient care and healthcare labor shortages.
“Further, this could have unintended, negative consequences on the quality of patient care and workforce shortages,” the congressional doctors warned.
Federal Judge Rejects Bid to Stop Washington Vaccine Mandate
A federal judge in Eastern Washington on Monday denied a bid by firefighters, state troopers and others to halt Washington’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for state workers and emergency responders.
A group of workers is suing Gov. Jay Inslee, Spokane Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer, Washington State Patrol Chief John Batiste and others. The workers say their civil rights are being violated by the requirement they get vaccinated to continue in their jobs.
The plaintiffs filed a motion for a temporary restraining order, but KXLY reports U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Rice denied the motion.
New Coalition of Federal Employees Sues Biden Over Vaccine Mandate
More than 50 federal employees from across the U.S. government have banded together to sue the Biden administration over coronavirus vaccine mandates, according to court documents.
The Washington-based Federal Practice Group filed the complaint against President Joe Biden and top agency officials in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on Oct. 19 on behalf of dozens of federal workers and submitted an amended version on Oct. 20.
The Department of Homeland Security has 20 employees listed in the lawsuit, more than any other federal department or independent agency. All federal workers face a Nov. 22 deadline to be fully vaccinated, which is considered complete two weeks after the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson shot.
The Evolving Battle Over Vaccine Mandates | Opinion
Welcome to the autumn of the vaccine mandate showdowns. Let’s survey the shifting battleground.
A government-imposed vaccine mandate for all citizens remains off the table, at least for now. Requirements that government employees get a shot seem to have a stronger legal basis, but resistance is bubbling among the ranks of municipal police and fire departments. Even the military has heard some grumbles.
Some of the largest private companies that established a vaccine requirement are feeling the heat of pushback. Most notable are the airlines — the holiday travel season is now threatened by pilot and flight crew protests that could ground significant portions of their flying fleets.
Supreme Court Justices May Have Met a Vaccine Mandate Some of Them Don’t Like
A group of unvaccinated Maine health care workers are asking the Supreme Court to block a state rule that mandates certain healthcare facilities require their employees to be fully vaccinated, arguing that the requirement violates their religious liberty rights.
So far, the justices have declined invitations to strike down vaccine mandates at Indiana University and New York City schools, but the Maine dispute could be different. That’s because the workers are making religious claims that could attract some of the justices.
The case is reminiscent of religious liberty disputes that arose in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic when states passed strict rules seeking to combat the spread of the virus. The court’s conservative majority ruled in favor of houses of worship in those disputes.
Rutgers Issues Vaccine Mandate for All 25,600 Employees
Rutgers University is now telling all of its employees, from tenured professors to dining hall workers, that they must be fully vaccinated against coronavirus by Dec. 8 or risk being fired from their jobs.
“President Biden’s executive order supersedes other state or local rules, regulations, laws or executive orders. It does not allow for a regular testing option for those employees who choose not to be vaccinated,” announced Rutgers Chief Operating Officer Antonio Calcado.
While Rutgers will consider requests for medical/religious exemptions,”providing proof of full vaccination by Dec. 8 is not optional,” Calcado continued. “Failure to provide proof of full vaccination or receive a University-approved exemption by Dec. 8 will result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.”
Federal Contractors for United Launch Alliance Walking off the Job, Protesting Vaccine Mandate
The deadline for federal employees and contractors to get the COVID-19 vaccine is getting closer. It’s Nov. 22 based on an Executive Order from President Biden.
We talked to federal contractors who work for United Launch Alliance in Decatur. They are furious. Many of these workers say they applied for religious exemptions or medical exemptions to the mandate and some learned last Friday, they were denied.
Monday, Governor Ivey issued an executive order saying the state will not force anyone to get a vaccine. “I’m all for the vaccine, but I’m not going to be a part of any federal mandates requiring you to do something,” Ivey said.
Exclusive: Billionaires Back New Media Firm to Combat Disinformation
A new public benefit corporation backed by billionaires Reid Hoffman, George Soros, and others is launching Tuesday to fund new media companies and efforts that tackle disinformation.
Why it matters: Good Information Inc. aims to fund and scale businesses that cut through echo chambers with fact-based information. As part of its mission, it plans to invest in local news companies.
The group will be led by Tara McGowan, a former Democratic strategist who previously ran a progressive non-profit called ACRONYM. ACRONYM invested in for-profit companies that built media and technology solutions for progressive causes. It ran one of the largest digital campaigns to defeat President Trump in the 2020 election, totaling $100 million.
CDC Director Walensky Avoids Question on Vaccine Mandate for Essential Workers
Centers for Disease Control Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky remains coy on whether the Biden administration would support COVID-19 vaccine mandates for essential workers or students.
Walensky said that the administration has “a plan” to encourage vaccinations and would point the more hesitant essential workers towards “education and counseling to get people the information they need.”
Police have remained a particularly resistant group. Major cities including Chicago and Los Angeles have enacted mandates for the police force, with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio weighing his own possible mandate.
In Maine, Vaccine Mandate for EMTs Stresses Small-Town Ambulance Crews
Emergency Medical Service (EMS) crews have been busier than ever this year, as people who delayed getting care during the COVID-19 pandemic have grown progressively sicker.
But there’s limited workforce to meet the demand. Both nationally and in Maine, staffing issues have plagued the EMS system for years. It’s intense work that takes a lot of training and offers low pay. The requirement in Maine and elsewhere that paramedics and emergency medical technicians be vaccinated against COVID is another stress on the workforce.
Chicago Vaccine Mandate: Police Union Boss No Longer Banned From Speaking Out Against Policy, Judge Rules
Chicago police union head John Catanzara is no longer prohibited from publicly encouraging his members to disobey the city’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate, which expired Monday after a judge refused to extend it.
Cook County Judge Cecilia Horan denied city attorneys’ request for the order to be extended and expanded in a written ruling, saying the situation since the first injunction had “materially changed.”
Catanzara has directed members to defy the city’s requirement and been outspoken in recent days on social media and in person. He spoke Monday to dozens of protesters gathered outside Chicago’s City Hall and during a City Council meeting where he vowed there’d be “hundreds” of officers defying the order.
New Zealand Is Moving to a Two-tier Society, but the Unvaccinated Are Already a Global Underclass
New Zealand’s COVID policy has once again hit the headlines. Last week, Jacinda Ardern, the prime minister, admitted that its new plans on loosening restrictions risked turning the country into a “two-tier” society.
Under the “traffic light” policy, those who are vaccinated will be able to move around and use services relatively freely, while the unjabbed will not.
But this policy is not confined to the Pacific island nation: vaccine passes are gaining traction around the world as countries introduce greater freedoms for those who are immunised, risking the creation of an unvaccinated underclass.
Planning Holiday Travel? Here’s How the American Airlines Employee Vaccine Mandate Could Impact Your Trip
If you plan on traveling for the holidays, experts warn there may not be the usual staff on hand for your flight. Piedmont Airlines flight attendants voted to authorize a strike last week, and pilots for several airlines are pushing back on vaccination requirements with deadlines looming next month.
“We are flying more in the winter according to American than we flew in the summer,” Captain Dennis Tajer, a spokesperson for the Allied Pilots Association representing American Airlines pilots, said.
“We don’t know how many pilots are going to be out there available to fly,” Tajer said. Tajer said they don’t know because of the impending vaccine mandate for American Airlines employees.
First Responders Resign Over Coronavirus Vaccine Mandate + More
First Responders Resign on Social Media Over Coronavirus Vaccine Mandate
First responders nationally are quitting their jobs over coronavirus vaccine mandates.
About 1,900 state workers in Washington reportedly either resigned or were fired by Tuesday, according to the state’s Office of Financial Management. That’s about 3% of the state’s workers.
Another 1,900 were allowed to work in a less public role, and 2,900 workers’ employment statuses are being determined, the Seattle Times reported. Across social media, first responders employed by the state are taking resignation announcements on their own terms, with some even going viral with the hashtag #StopTheMandate.
185 Employees Separate From Triad at Los Alamos National Lab Due to COVID Vaccine Mandate
The Los Alamos Reporter has learned that some 185 employees have separated from Triad National Security, LLC at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) as a result of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate implemented by the Lab for all employees.
There are another 153 employees currently on leave without pay or vacation status with a religious exemption that may return to work at LANL when it is safe to do so. Medical exemptions were granted to 26 employees.
Vaccine Mandates Decimating Police Forces Across U.S.
As crime rates surge, so are vaccine mandates — and resistance by police to those mandates. That means major cities across the United States risk losing one-third or more of their police forces, hesitant about getting the COVID-19 shot.
In Chicago, more than 4,500 employees of the Chicago Police Department — about one-third of both officers and civilian employees — refused to disclose their vaccine status. Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the city’s Fraternal Order of Police are in a political standoff.
A real disruption also soon could hit Los Angeles, where the city’s vaccine mandate deadline is in December. Last month, employees of the Los Angeles Police Department filed a federal lawsuit opposing the city’s vaccine mandate.
Hundreds of Emergency Workers Block New York Roads in Protest Against Vaccine Mandate
Hundreds of emergency workers blocked roads in New York City’s Brooklyn borough as they protested against the city’s vaccine mandate for municipal workers.
Demonstrators included city workers with the Fire Department of New York (FDNY), Emergency Medical Services (EMS), the Sanitation Department of New York (SDNY) and the New York Police Department (NYPD).
Photos and videos show a large crowd gathering at the FDNY’s headquarters in downtown Brooklyn. Protesters are expected to rally and march across the Brooklyn Bridge over to City Hall.
Firefighters Say Florida County’s Vaccine Mandate Causing Rifts Among First Responders That Compromise Public Safety
Firefighter, paramedic, dispatcher, and EMT morale in Florida’s fifth most-populous county is so low due to a vaccine mandate that public safety is being compromised, first responders say.
Many say they fear the vaccine because they’ve responded to daily calls to the homes of people who’ve been seriously harmed or died shortly after the injection, says a spokesman for the group, firefighter Jason Wheat. Others object because they feel they should have a right to choose what to put in their bodies or have religious objections.
The resulting infighting over who’s been vaccinated and who hasn’t is causing so much strife within the department that many first responders are distracted, stressed, and unable to work well as a team, Wheat said.
Orange County Firefighters Give Update on Lawsuit Challenging Vaccine Mandate
First responders with Orange County Fire Rescue, along with their attorney, gave an update Sunday on their lawsuit challenging vaccine mandates in the county. Orange County firefighters were joined by Attorney Rachel Rodriguez to discuss the lawsuit and how vaccine mandates have impacted them.
Rodriguez said the lawsuit was filed in response to Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, after he issued mandates for COVID-19 vaccinations and testing in July by calling a state of emergency in the county.
“This mandate is against their Florida constitutional fundamental rights, including the right to privacy,” Rodriguez said. The lawsuit asks for emergency temporary injunctive relief and requests the court to end the mandate.
Vaccine Mandate Threatens Major Trucking Disruption, Industry Insiders Say
American truckers don’t like taking orders. But the Biden administration has increased pressure on some of them to take the vaccine — willing or unwilling.
All through the pandemic, truckers endured hardships to keep America’s infrastructure running. They waited in line for hours in sight of bathrooms they weren’t allowed to use. On the road, some died alone of COVID-19.
Now, with supply chains disrupted, Americans need them more than ever. But faced with the prospect of a mandated vaccination, many drivers are considering quitting.
Will the COVID Vaccine Be Required for Students in School? Vaccine Mandates Could Be Coming Soon
Governor Kathy Hochul says all options are on the table when it comes to COVID vaccine mandates and school children.
Could there be a vaccine mandate inside public schools in New York? Governor Hochul said it’s possible, but she hopes everyone does the ‘right thing’ when it comes to getting the COVID vaccine. At this point, the state is evaluating information and data.
The Food and Drug Administration is expected to discuss Pfizer’s vaccine for children between 5 and 11 years old. That conversation will likely happen this week, and could prompt an emergency use approval.
Protesters Attempt to Storm Entrance of Barclays Center Over Nets’ Refusal to Allow Kyrie Irving to Play Due to NYC Vaccine Mandate
There was drama outside of the Brooklyn Nets‘ home opener at Barclays Center on Sunday.
Protesters tried storming the entrance over the team’s decision not to let Kyrie Irving play because he won’t get vaccinated, CBS2’s Lisa Rozner reported.
Just before Sunday’s 4 p.m. tip-off, barricades at Barclays Center entrance were removed. A man dressed in red is seen on video summoning people to come in, and protesters using all their might try to break through a group of security guards who eventually got a hold of them and close all the doors for a short time
Florida Aims to Pay $5,000 to Out-of-State Police Who Resist Vaccine Mandates
The Republican governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, plans to offer $5,000 bonuses to lure police officers from other states who resist vaccine mandates.
“We’re actually actively working to recruit out-of-state law enforcement,” DeSantis told Fox News.
University Receives $750K of Federal Funds to Stop Reporters From Creating ‘Negative Unintended Outcomes’
Researchers at Temple University received $750,000 from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop a tool that warns journalists that they are about to publish polarizing content. The NSF is a federal government agency focused on supporting research and education in non-medical fields of engineering and science.
The focus of the project, according to a report on Campus Reform, is creating a system that alerts journalists that the content they are about to publish might have “negative unintended outcomes” such as “the triggering of uncivil, polarizing discourse, audience misinterpretation, the production of misinformation, and the perpetuation of false narratives.”
One of the researchers involved in the project, Temple University’s professor Eduard Dragut, said that the system will “use natural language processing algorithms along with social networking tools to mine the communities where [misinformation] may happen.”
Big Tech Won’t Make Healthcare Any Better
Big Tech sees the world as a readable map — and it’s long since catalogued every street, hill, and house and begun digitizing every book and photo. It’s even aggregated our behavior into analyzable datasets; and as the number of digital devices probing the self and the world increases, so too does the tech monopolies’ influence. The borders between digital representation and analogue reality, between map and territory, are becoming ever more elastic.
Big Tech’s ambitions to expand into healthcare have gained new intensity during the pandemic. The emergency hasn’t only made GAFA (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon) a ubiquitous, seemingly indispensable presence in our lives.
After several years of scandals and congressional hearings for the tech giants, it’s also given them a chance to rejuvenate their altruistic image by presenting themselves as champions of a new digitalized branch of healthcare.
Biden Says Police Officers, First Responders Should Be Fired for Refusing Jab + More
Biden Says Police Officers, First Responders Should Be Fired for Refusing Jab
President Biden on Thursday said police officers and first responders who refuse the COVID-19 vaccine should stay home and be fired.
Speaking during a presidential CNN town hall, moderator Anderson Cooper noted that as many as one in three emergency responders in some major cities are refusing to comply with city vaccine mandates.
Biden went on to say that those who oppose vaccine mandates are attempting to make vaccines “a political issue.” The president also scoffed at those who oppose vaccine mandates on the basis of “freedom.”
Dozens of General Electric Workers Walkout to Protest Vaccine Mandate
Dozens of General Electric (GE) workers staged a walkout in Greenville, S.C., over the company’s vaccine mandate.
There were around 150 to 200 mostly GE workers outside the facility on Thursday protesting against the vaccine mandate, Greenville News reported.
“We worked as an essential employee through the entire COVID pandemic,” Shannon Harrill, an employee at the company for 20 years, told the local outlet. “We were required to be here or lose our job. Now you’re requiring me to take it to stay here.”
NASA Engineer of 37 Years Prepared to Retire Over Vaccine Mandate if Religious Exemption Isn’t Granted
A NASA engineer of 37 years is prepared to retire over President Biden’s vaccine mandate, arguing it is her “First Amendment right” to refuse the shot for religious reasons. Sophia Smith appeared on “Fox & Friends” on Thursday to discuss the mandate and why she has requested a religious exemption from the vaccine.
“So I’m stand[ing] firm, particularly in fighting for the constitutional right…our First Amendment right. That’s our rally. We call it the constitutional rally,” Smith explained, referring to a group of fellow NASA employees who are assembling in protest of the mandate.
Smith made it clear she does oppose vaccines in general but believes the decision to get the shot should not have an impact on her employment.
More Than 130 Chicago Municipal Employees File Lawsuit Challenging Vaccine Mandates
More than 130 Chicago municipal workers filed a lawsuit on Thursday, claiming the city and state’s vaccine mandates are unconstitutional. The workers, mostly from the fire, water and transportation departments, are challenging an executive order by Gov. J.B. Pritzker which requires state employees to be vaccinated for COVID-19.
The mandate “far exceeds the power of the governor granted to him by Illinois statute,” the lawsuit argues.
The lawsuit also argues against a mandate put in place by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, which required that all city employees disclose their vaccination status by October 15 or undergo twice-weekly tests for COVID-19.
U.S. Intel Warns China Could Dominate Advanced Technologies
U.S. officials are issuing new warnings about China’s ambitions in artificial intelligence and a range of advanced technologies that could eventually give Beijing a decisive military edge and possible dominance over healthcare and other essential sectors in America.
The warnings include a renewed effort to inform business executives, academics and local and state government officials about the risks of accepting Chinese investment or expertise in key industries, officials at the National Counterintelligence and Security Center said Thursday. While the center does not intend to tell officials to reject Chinese investment, it will encourage efforts to control intellectual property and implement security measures.
Massachusetts Hospital Workers Lose Bid on Vaccine Mandate
A federal judge denied a request by several employees at the largest hospital system in Massachusetts for an injunction to block the company from placing them on unpaid leave for violating the system’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
But the judge on Wednesday did not rule on the issue of whether the workers at Mass General Brigham were the victims of discrimination for being denied medical or religious vaccination exemptions. “This is a tentative decision based on an incomplete factual record and legal analysis,” U.S. District Court Judge Dennis Saylor said. Another hearing was tentatively scheduled for Nov. 2.
Eight employees filed the federal lawsuit on Sunday, saying disability and religious exemptions had been wrongly denied without explanation. The suit does not question the legality of the vaccine mandate.
Business Group Warns of Mass Layoffs and ‘Catastrophic’ Supply Chain Disruptions From Biden’s Vaccine Mandate
President Joe Biden‘s vaccine order will force employers to lay off thousands of workers, making the supply-chain crisis much worse, a major business group warned the White House this week.
The National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, an influential trade group that represents an industry with nearly 6 million workers, is pleading with the administration to delay a December 8 deadline for employees of federal contractors to get vaccinated.
“If tens or hundreds of thousands of employees are terminated just two weeks before Christmas…the result could be nothing short of catastrophic for the newly unemployed and their families and for the U.S. economy,” Eric Hoplin, the NAW’s president and CEO, wrote in a Wednesday letter to Biden. To avoid a “calamity,” the NAW urged Biden to provide alternatives, including testing, and to consider a “short-term delay” to avoid further disruption to supply chains.
Big Tech Insists They’re Protecting Americans From China While Importing Chinese-Style Social Controls
If you need evidence that Big Tech firms are starting to worry about the growing movement to diffuse their immense market power, look no further than their newest scare tactic: using China as an excuse to avoid antitrust scrutiny.
They’ve suggested that antitrust action might result in the loss of the free services we’ve come to depend upon. But how do they call their services “free” when we pay for them by giving them all of our personal data, which they store and monetize, and when they rely on our content to make their platforms valuable in the first place?
COVID Authoritarians Are Wrecking America, Not the Unvaccinated
It’s an odd dynamic. One would think that if the COVID vaccines were a generally benevolent program that actually “followed the science” then there would be no need to pile drive the public with an endless barrage of vax propaganda.
After all, if science and morality are on the side of the COVID cult then the rest would naturally take care of itself and the overwhelming majority of Americans would have already voluntarily taken the experimental mRNA cocktail without any threats required.
And, if some people still refused, then the science would dictate that it doesn’t matter, because if the vax actually works then those people present no threat whatsoever to the rest of society. It is highly revealing that this is not the case, and the more resistance the establishment encounters on mandates the more aggressive they become and the more they lie about the facts and evidence.
Parents Were Fine With Sweeping School Vaccination Mandates Five Decades Ago — But COVID May Be a Different Story
The ongoing battles over COVID-19 vaccination in the U.S. are likely to get more heated when the Food and Drug Administration authorizes emergency use of a vaccine for children ages 5 to 11, expected later this fall.
California has announced it will require the vaccine for elementary school attendance once it receives full FDA approval after emergency use authorization, and other states may follow suit.
As a public health historian who studies the evolution of vaccination policies, I see stark differences between the current debates over COVID-19 vaccination and the public response to previous mandates.
Canada’s COVID Travel Vaccine Passport: Canadian Government Reveals Standardized, National Proof of Vaccination
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday that provincial and territorial governments across Canada will move forward with a standardized proof of COVID-19 vaccination certificate.
He added that the federal government will be “picking up the tab” for this standardized certificate. Canadians will not be able to board a plane for foreign or domestic travel without a certificate starting on November 30.
Chicago Police Union Compares Vaccine Mandate to ‘Hunger Games’ + More
Chicago Police Union Compares Vaccine Mandate to ‘Hunger Games,’ Tells Cops to ‘Stand Strong’
Chicago police union leader described a standoff over Mayor Lori Lightfoot‘s “tyrannical” COVID-19 vaccine mandate for city employees as The Hunger Games on Wednesday.
Chicago city workers were given until last Friday to comply with Lightfoot’s mandate by disclosing their vaccination status to the city. Thousands of workers did not meet the deadline. Mette urged the non-compliant officers to “stand strong.”
“Welcome to day three of ‘The Hunger Games,’ where we find out who the city is going to offer up as tribute,” Mette said.
Maine Healthcare Workers Appeal to Supreme Court After Federal Court Upholds State’s Vaccine Mandate
A group of unvaccinated Maine healthcare workers asked the Supreme Court Wednesday to step in and block enforcement of the state’s coronavirus vaccine mandate.
The mandate is set to go into force on Oct. 29 and the workers argue that the mandate violates their sincerely held religious beliefs and offers no religious exemptions.
Late Tuesday, a federal appeals court denied a request to block the mandate.
Federal Judge Denies Effort to Block Oregon’s Vaccine Mandate by 7 Workers Who Had COVID
The Oregonian/Oregon Live reported:
A second federal judge in Oregon has denied an emergency motion to block the state’s vaccine mandate or carve out an exception for state workers who have already contracted COVID-19.
U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken ruled the U.S. Constitution offers no fundamental right to refuse a vaccination and that the required shots are in the state’s interest to slow the spread of the disease and protect Oregon’s citizens.
Aiken further saw no need to exempt unvaccinated workers from the vaccine mandate if they already had the virus, citing a recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control and sworn testimony submitted by an Oregon Health Authority doctor.
Italy Sees Protests Against Mandatory Health Passports for Workplaces
A demonstration in Trieste, Italy, against the mandate for health passports in the workplace turned into a riot on 18 October, with police using tear gas and water cannons to disperse crowds. Protests against the use of COVID passports have been spreading throughout the country, with protestors claiming they are discriminatory.
This autumn the Italian government approved 1 some of the strictest anti-COVID-19 measures in the world, including making it mandatory for all workers to have a so-called green pass before returning to workplaces.
Murphy Shies From Strict Vaccine Mandate for NJ Teachers and Public Workers, Unlike NYC
Gov. Phil Murphy said Wednesday that he has no immediate plans to issue a vaccine mandate to teachers and other public workers without the option of weekly testing — a different approach from New York City’s, where most unvaccinated city workers will soon be placed on unpaid leave.
But Murphy has been reluctant to impose a blanket vaccine mandate even to healthcare workers, who can opt-out if they agree to regular COVID testing, unless their employer requires vaccination unconditionally. New York requires all public and private healthcare workers to be vaccinated with no test option, or face termination.
Apple Still Won’t Mandate Vaccines But Will Require Employees to Regularly Take COVID Tests
Apple is tightening its COVID-19 policies, requiring that unvaccinated employees (or employees who refuse to disclose their vaccination status) get daily COVID-19 tests to enter its offices, although the company still has yet to require workers to get vaccinated. Vaccinated employees will also have to do regular tests, but only once a week, Bloomberg reports.
Apple is one of the largest major tech companies that hasn’t instituted a mandate yet, with Google, Facebook, and Microsoft all requiring that in-person employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter their offices.
Despite Low Vaccination Rates, Correction Officers Get Extended Timeline to Meet Vaccine Mandate
Not all city workers will have to be vaccinated for COVID-19 by next month. The Department of Correction (DOC) is getting an extended deadline as the city continues to struggle to get officers back to work and a crisis of staffing continues to complicate conditions on Rikers Island.
All city workers will be required to have at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by November 1, with the exception of Department of Correction officers.
“There is a small group of uniformed correction officers who will have a different deadline. And, in that case, it will be for December 1,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday during a press conference at City Hall.
Under Vaccine Mandates, Why Isn’t Proof of Natural Immunity Accepted?
With mandatory vaccination deadlines looming for many workers, why isn’t proof of natural immunity accepted?
There are some legal challenges to this across the nation where employees argue since they have had COVID and have natural antibodies they therefore should not have to get the vaccine to keep their job.
Is In-N-Out’s Battle the Opening Skirmish in a Conflict Over Vaccine Mandates?
For a short time earlier this month, an In-N-Out at San Francisco’s famed Fisherman’s Wharf refused to add a new item to its iconic menu. The city had ordered the burger spot, and all other local restaurants, to screen patrons’ COVID-19 vaccination status before allowing them to dine indoors.
When inspectors found In-N-Out wasn’t doing that, they temporarily closed the location. The fast-food chain publicly decried the action but took steps to reopen just a few days later.
But as more communities across California require proof of vaccination for many retailers and other public venues, the battle over enforcement of the new rules is just beginning to heat up.
Nearly 200 State Healthcare Workers Withdraw COVID Vaccine Mandate Lawsuits
Nearly 200 Minnesota healthcare workers voluntarily withdrew their federal lawsuits over COVID-19 vaccine mandates, according to court documents filed Tuesday, Oct. 19.
The 187 healthcare workers listed as plaintiffs included people with religious objections to the vaccines and those who say their previous COVID-19 infections make them immune. The lawsuit contended that the lack of alternatives to vaccines infringe upon the rights of these employees.
Last week, a federal judge dismissed a request to block the mandate but didn’t dismiss the case outright.
Facebook Kept Its Own Oversight Board in the Dark on Program for VIP Users
Facebook failed to provide crucial details about its “Cross-Check” program that reportedly shielded millions of VIP users from the social media platform’s normal content moderation rules, according to the company’s oversight board.
The tech giant “has not been fully forthcoming on Cross-Check,” the oversight board said in a report published on Thursday. “On some occasions, Facebook failed to provide relevant information to the Board, while in other instances, the information it did provide was incomplete,” it added.