Alka Verma –
Published On: October 2, 2021 at 10:45 IST
US Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor refused to put a halt on a mandatory rule for New York City public school employees to get their first dose of the COVID-19 shot.
The rule also states that one who hasn’t been vaccinated yet, can either face suspension or more possibly termination.
Justice Sonia also quashed the challenge of four teachers and teaching assistants who looked to put a suspension on the rule of mandate Vaccine, while their lawsuit challenging the same rule was already pending in the Lower Court.
Justice Sonia quashed the emergency Plea neither offering any explanation nor referring it to the full nine-member court.
An Order was passed by New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio on August 23 which made it mandatory for all 148,000 staff of US largest District Schools to submit a proof of at least one dose of a COVID-19 Vaccine.
In response to this Order, the teachers of New York City filed a lawsuit in Brooklyn Federal Court last month.
In their lawsuit, they claimed that the Vaccine mandate violates their rights to due process and equal protection under the law under the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment.
Adding to it, they also stated that this rule also violates their freedom to pursue their chosen profession and also discriminates them from other municipal workers who can work by taking weekly COVID-19 tests.
The city in its defence in Lower Court stated that taking the Vaccine mandatorily doesn’t violate anyone’s Constitutional rights.
“Put bluntly, plaintiffs do not have a substantive due process right to teach children without being vaccinated against a dangerous infectious disease,” counsel appearing for the city said.
The workers of the public-school system were ordered to get Vaccinated by 5 p.m.
Also Read: Judge lifts temporary pause on the NYC’s Vaccine Mandate