New York State's decree requiring all state medical personnel to get vaccinated against COVID-19 without exception will remain in limbo for the time being.
First announced by former Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Aug. 16, the order has remained a point of contention under Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration for a vocal minority of healthcare workers seeking religious exemptions.
Healthcare workers at hospitals, long-term care facilities and other congregate care settings who seek said exemptions may remain unvaccinated and keep their jobs at least until Oct. 12, as the Daily Wire's Amanda Prestigiacomo explains:
As highlighted by The Daily Wire, a group of health care workers represented by the Thomas More Society sued the state arguing their Constitutional rights were violated when the state's issued a vaccination mandate barring religious exemptions.
SEE ALSO: Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Governor's Vaccination Mandate for Medical Personnel
Judge David Hurd last Tuesday issued the order giving the Hochul administration “until Sept. 22 to respond to the lawsuit in federal court in Utica,” ABC News reported. “If the state opposes the plaintiffs' request for a preliminary court order blocking the vaccine mandate, a Sept. 28 oral hearing will occur.”
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The Thomas More Society argued that the mandate “attempts to nullify protections for sincere religious beliefs granted under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, even though days earlier the state of New York had afforded protection for religious beliefs in its prior health order.”
Attorney Christopher Ferrara, Thomas More Society Special Counsel, called the move “a brazen power grab by people who think they can get away with anything.”
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