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US District Court Judge backs New York health care workers seeking religious exemption to COVID-19 vaccine mandate
Newsday ^ | 10/12/2021 | Bart Jones

Posted on 10/12/2021 10:35:09 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

Health care workers in New York State who don’t want to get the COVID-19 vaccine because of religious concerns can continue to do so, under a preliminary injunction issued Tuesday by a federal judge.

Gov. Kathy Hochul began requiring workers at hospitals and nursing homes to be vaccinated on Sept. 27 and more recently expanded the requirement to include workers at assisted living homes, hospice care and treatment centers and home health aides.

Her administration — and many religious leaders — contend there is no religious requirement against getting vaccinated. Pope Francis, for example, has encouraged people to get the shots.

But 17 doctors, nurses and other health professionals have said in a lawsuit that their rights would be violated by a vaccine mandate that disallowed the religious exemption.

Judge David Hurd of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York in Utica had issued a temporary restraining order a month ago supporting them, and on Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction also backing them. Hurd wrote that the health care workers suing the state were likely to succeed on the merits of their constitutional claim.

The injunction means New York will continue to be barred from enforcing any requirement that employers deny religious exemptions.

(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Government; News/Current Events; US: New York
KEYWORDS: newyork; religiousexemption; vaccinemandate

1 posted on 10/12/2021 10:35:09 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To: SeekAndFind

The NazicRATS will take it to the next step.


2 posted on 10/12/2021 10:37:56 AM PDT by crz
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To: SeekAndFind

A major victory against the Joe Traitor fascist mandate.

Very, very big. This will have Joe Traitor’s Obamunist controllers frothing in fury.
It’s a very major win in a fight for freedom.


3 posted on 10/12/2021 10:40:51 AM PDT by romanesq (TRUSTY THE PLAN! ChiCom Joe is the Plan? Que magnificent! )
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To: romanesq

So know where is the suit for federal workers and contractors?


4 posted on 10/12/2021 10:51:37 AM PDT by RBW in PA
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To: SeekAndFind

Those who are in senior related healthcare probably should get mRNA therapy before returning to work with this population as they are the most vulnerable.

Now, it is not clear that the untreated are a threat to the elderly who have largely been treated with mRNA . So the arguments get sort of conflated.


5 posted on 10/12/2021 10:55:59 AM PDT by Ouderkirk (Life is about ass, you're either covering, hauling, laughing, kicking, kissing, or behaving like one)
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To: RBW in PA
My understanding is that this is regarding the NY state mandate which didn’t have a provision to allow religious accommodations.

The federal mandate does allow workers to request a religious accommodation. Whether or not any such exemption requests are honored is a different question.

6 posted on 10/12/2021 10:58:49 AM PDT by TheDandyMan
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To: SeekAndFind
Hurd wrote that the health care workers suing the state were likely to succeed on the merits of their constitutional claim.

This is a remarkable piece of the story here.

7 posted on 10/12/2021 11:02:56 AM PDT by Alberta's Child ("All lies and jest, ‘til a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.")
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To: TheDandyMan
The federal mandate does allow workers to request a religious accommodation. Whether or not any such exemption requests are honored is a different question.

Employers, if they honor the exemptions, must test their unvaxxed employees weekly if the employee is not working from home.

8 posted on 10/12/2021 11:05:07 AM PDT by kosciusko51
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To: kosciusko51
I think for private businesses with 100+ workers, they have to test if the employee declines to get a Covid shot. I don’t think religious accommodations come into play there unless the company chooses not to allow the testing option. For federal workers and contractors, there’s no testing option period. A religious accommodation could take any form the employer deems reasonable, which might include weekly testing? With Joe’s mandate on federal workers and contractors explicitly disallowing weekly testing as an option, I would tend to think a religious accommodation wouldn’t take that form.
9 posted on 10/12/2021 11:09:46 AM PDT by TheDandyMan
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To: RBW in PA

Exactly


10 posted on 10/12/2021 11:13:35 AM PDT by walkingdead (We are sacrificing American youth's future on the altar of our own fear. And it is a travesty.)
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To: kosciusko51

“Employers, if they honor the exemptions, must test their unvaxxed employees weekly if the employee is not working from home.“

Testing is not an option for federal workers or federal contractors per the nonsensical mandate.


11 posted on 10/12/2021 11:16:35 AM PDT by walkingdead (We are sacrificing American youth's future on the altar of our own fear. And it is a travesty.)
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To: walkingdead; TheDandyMan

I stand corrected. I’m now wondering why my company is going that route.


12 posted on 10/12/2021 11:25:41 AM PDT by kosciusko51
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To: walkingdead

“Testing is not an option for federal workers or federal contractors per the nonsensical mandate.”

Nor is it an option for companies with federal contracts. All employees in this case must get vaxxed.


13 posted on 10/12/2021 12:07:55 PM PDT by EQAndyBuzz (I got the shot. Not because I wanted to. Because I had to, in violation of my civil rights.)
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To: SeekAndFind

“Her administration — and many religious leaders — contend there is no religious requirement against getting vaccinated.”

No government employee or “religious leader” dictates to me my conscience or how to follow it. That’s between myself and my God.


14 posted on 10/12/2021 12:50:45 PM PDT by Boogieman
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To: RBW in PA

My guess is that there a lot of lawsuits being prepared right now on the federal government side.

A good friend is playing out the string and they have not given clarity to federal workers on how an exemption will be handled.

There is a big hurry up and wait going on. OSHA has not done anything. All we’ve seen to date is a Traitor Joe order and his Obamunist handlers encouraging private industry to put their necks on the chopping block and fire people who are unvaxed.

Lawsuits on that side piling up galore.

Today, in NYC a federal judge granted an injunction to NY health care workers. That is a big victory.


15 posted on 10/12/2021 2:27:49 PM PDT by romanesq (TRUSTY THE PLAN! ChiCom Joe is the Plan? Que magnificent! )
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To: EQAndyBuzz

No, there are exemptions for religious or medical reasons.


16 posted on 10/12/2021 7:39:14 PM PDT by kosciusko51
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