NYS Covid Vaccine Mandate

Jurisdiction
New York
Folks

From a legal standpoint, are healthcare institutions that have a state mandate to have all their staff vaccinated allowed to force an employee to resign (vs terminated), thus leaving me no option to claim unemployment? Here's the language from my employer

Employees who do not comply with the vaccination program by the deadlines above will be placed off duty for seven days without pay, and given those seven days to meet the program requirements. Employees who choose not to meet the program requirements after seven days will be deemed to have opted to resign
 
Even if you were "terminated", it would likely preclude you from obtaining unemployment insurance.
 
Employees who choose not to meet the program requirements after seven days will be deemed to have opted to resign

That language is meaningless. If they don't schedule you for work and tell you that they consider you to have resigned when you are willing to show up and work then no matter what they call it you were terminated. Apply for unemployment comp. It's the state that makes the decision whether you qualify, not your employer. However, it is quite possible that refusing to vaccinate in a healthcare setting in NY would be considered gross misconduct and result in denial of benefits.
 
What if somebody calls out sick before this deadline and gets a doctor's note that getting the vaccine at this point will be detrimental to one's health
 
From a legal standpoint, are healthcare institutions that have a state mandate to have all their staff vaccinated allowed to force an employee to resign (vs terminated), thus leaving me no option to claim unemployment?


I suspect that if you refused to get jabbed and subsequently sent home for seven days to use said time to "come to your senses" or get terminated by YOUR RESIGNATION as problematic for yoru employer.

The issue here is that if you suffered such a fate (termination via resignation), you would have a potential lawsuit on your hands.

The bigger problem is that you'd need to hire a lawyer to litigate the matter for you.

Having litigated various labor law issues for employees over the decades, your battle would be very expensive.

How expensive?

My very first such lawsuit was on behalf of my father.
I was able to do so with the assistance of one of the largest such law firms in this country, working with me "pro bono".

The cost expended approximated $250,000.
The matter was litigated before the Federal Bench.
Dad eventually received an award in the high seven figures, plus unpaid pension benefits.

Lacking today's the equivalent of $250K in 1970s dollar today, you might reconsider your choices.

I received my third Pfizer jab (booster) today.
That would be the THIRD Pfizer dose.
I have suffered no side effects.

Whatever any of us chooses to do, it is prudent to always do a cost benefits analysis before doing anything.

EVERYTHING has a cost.

Make sure the cost you pay for your choice is worth it!
 
What if somebody calls out sick before this deadline and gets a doctor's note that getting the vaccine at this point will be detrimental to one's health
Somebody should run their what-if scenarios by their employer.
 
is this a lawsuit that one can fight themselves or I should not even think about it? Another option would be to use free services from an agency like city bar justice center that offers NYers pro bono legal help
 
is this a lawsuit that one can fight themselves or I should not even think about it? Another option would be to use free services from an agency like city bar justice center that offers NYers pro bono legal help
What "lawsuit"? An unemployment claim is not a "lawsuit".
 
is this a lawsuit that one can fight themselves or I should not even think about it?

You have the RIGHT to be your own lawyer.

Luckily for my dad, I served as his champion.

Dad was a smart man, smart enough to know that he couldn't do it, even if I talked him through it.

I was proud to have spent six years fighting for dad's justice.

He was always there for me.

I don't have the power to tell you what to do.

Another option would be to use free services from an agency like city bar justice center that offers NYers pro bono legal help

That is always an option, and it can't hurt if you asked any legal non-profit for help.

If you don't ask, you'll never know.

In fact, very large law firms will often take cases similar to your on a pro bono basis.

That is how lawyers and law firms give back to their community.

Law Schools often run legal clinics that also offer pro bono services to people in need.
 
is this a lawsuit that one can fight themselves or I should not even think about it? Another option would be to use free services from an agency like city bar justice center that offers NYers pro bono legal help
I'm curious...what is the reason for not getting vaxed? Do you object to all vaccines or is it just the COVID Vaccine that you object to?
 
The lawsuit's premise is to force an employee to take a shot when it was detrimental to their health condition (yes it's a serious condition) and yes I can get a doctor's note
 
The lawsuit's premise is to force an employee to take a shot when it was detrimental to their health condition (yes it's a serious condition) and yes I can get a doctor's note
Oh, so this IS a real situation. Great...discuss it with your employer. There's no way that any of us can guess how your employer will respond in your specific situation. I will say, however, that being given instructions by a health professional will greatly help your case when you file for unemployment...if it comes to that. A forced "resignation" is a termination, as was explained above.
 
The lawsuit's premise is to force an employee to take a shot when it was detrimental to their health condition (yes it's a serious condition) and yes I can get a doctor's note
I missed that again. WHAT lawsuit?
 
The lawsuit's premise is to force an employee to take a shot when it was detrimental to their health condition (yes it's a serious condition) and yes I can get a doctor's note

The easiest, quickest solution is get the note from your physician.

The note will EXEMPT you from getting the jabs.

 
I'm still trying to figure out what "lawsuit" the OP is referring to. Did I miss something?
 
I'm still trying to figure out what "lawsuit" the OP is referring to. Did I miss something?
wrongful termination lawsuit based on a doctor's note that I am not a good candidate for the vaccine and there are major risk factors for my specific case. The risk outweighs the benefits of the vaccine for me
 
wrongful termination lawsuit based on a doctor's note that I am not a good candidate for the vaccine and there are major risk factors for my specific case. The risk outweighs the benefits of the vaccine for me
Have you been terminated?
Have you spoken to an attorney to find out if such a termination would actually be a "wrongful termination"?
 
Back
Top