623 F.Supp.3d 339
S.D.N.Y.2022Background
- In Aug.–Sept. 2021 NYC Health Commissioner issued a Vaccine Mandate requiring DOE employees, contractors, and in-person school staff to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination; initial orders contained no medical or religious exemptions.
- The UFT and CSA arbitrations produced awards providing an administrative religious-exemption process (SOLAS) with specified denial criteria; many DOE staff submitted exemption requests by the deadline and were denied.
- Plaintiffs (21 DOE teachers/administrators) sued asserting Free Exercise, Establishment, Equal Protection, Due Process, and other claims; they sought multiple preliminary injunctions, which were denied on appeal and in the district courts at various stages.
- The Second Circuit held the Mandate is facially neutral and generally applicable but found the arbitration criteria constitutionally suspect as applied, and ordered fresh citywide review by a new Citywide Panel under Title VII-like standards; that Panel reviewed plaintiffs’ claims and denied most, granting a few.
- This Court (after recusal by the prior judge) granted defendants’ motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ federal constitutional claims with prejudice, declined supplemental jurisdiction over state-law claims, and denied plaintiffs’ renewed request for a preliminary injunction.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Exercise — facial challenge | Mandate targets or disproportionately burdens certain religious beliefs and is not generally applicable; strict scrutiny required | Mandate is neutral, generally applicable, and justified by public-health and safety interests; rational-basis (or lower) review applies | Mandate is facially neutral and generally applicable; rational-basis review applies; Free Exercise claim dismissed |
| Free Exercise — as-applied challenge | Arbitrators and initial arbitration criteria improperly evaluated religious claims (e.g., relying on public statements by clergy); as-applied relief warranted | City conceded arbitral criteria problematic; Citywide Panel afforded fresh review consistent with Title VII standards | Second Circuit required Citywide Panel review; after that review plaintiffs largely failed to show valid as-applied violations; as-applied claims dismissed |
| Due Process (procedural and substantive) | Plaintiffs deprived of liberty/property and lacked adequate process or a fundamental right to avoid vaccination as a job condition | Vaccination condition is a lawful employment condition; notice, appeals, and post-deprivation remedies (CBA/Article 78) supplied; no fundamental right infringed | No fundamental substantive due-process right implicated; procedural due process satisfied (notice, review, remedies); claims dismissed |
| Equal Protection / Establishment | Mandate discriminates against unorthodox religious minorities and reflects governmental animus or denominational preference | Mandate is neutral and applies to a class (school workers); statements cited do not show animus; longstanding precedent allows vaccination requirements | Claims fail: no showing of discriminatory treatment of similarly situated persons or governmental animus; claims dismissed |
Key Cases Cited
- Employment Div., Dept. of Human Resources v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990) (neutral, generally applicable laws need not satisfy strict scrutiny for Free Exercise)
- Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye, Inc. v. City of Hialeah, 508 U.S. 520 (1993) (laws motivated by religious animus violate Free Exercise)
- Jacobson v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11 (1905) (public-health vaccination mandates are a longstanding, constitutionally permissible exercise of state power)
- Ansonia Bd. of Educ. v. Philbrook, 479 U.S. 60 (1986) (employer need only provide a reasonable accommodation; need not provide the employee’s preferred accommodation)
- Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison, 432 U.S. 63 (1977) (undue hardship standard in religious-accommodation context: more than de minimis cost)
- Kane v. de Blasio, 19 F.4th 152 (2d Cir. 2021) (Second Circuit: Mandate facially neutral and generally applicable; ordered fresh citywide review of religious exemptions)
- We the Patriots USA, Inc. v. Hochul, 17 F.4th 266 (2d Cir. 2021) (upholding vaccine mandates in analogous contexts)
- Cosme v. Henderson, 287 F.3d 152 (2d Cir. 2002) (framework for Title VII religious-accommodation analysis)
- Engquist v. Oregon Dep’t of Agr., 553 U.S. 591 (2008) (distinction between government acting as regulator and as employer)
- Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, 141 S. Ct. 1868 (2021) (creation of formal exception mechanisms can affect general-applicability analysis)