Court strikes down Boston’s vaccine mandate for unionized first responders

A judge on Tuesday blocked a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for certain first responders, writing in her order that the city’s mandate cannot be enforced on the members of three unions until legal challenges are resolved.

Massachusetts Appeals Court Judge Sabita Singh ruled on Tuesday that Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s vaccine mandate for city employees cannot be enforced until a disagreement between the city and three unions — Boston Firefighters Local 718, Boston Police Superior Officers Federation and the Boston Police Detectives Benevolent Society — has been resolved, Boston.com reported.

“Given the limited harm to the city and the public health interest it seeks to promote, and the substantial harm likely to be sustained by the unions in the absence of an injunction, the balance of harms favors the issuance of an injunction to preserve the status quo, in view of the unions’ likelihood of success on the merits,” Singh wrote in her order.

While this dispute is ongoing, an agreement between Boston and the unions that requires city employees get vaccinated or get tested weekly for COVID-19 will remain in place.

Wu issued her mandate for city employees shortly after she was elected as Boston’s first female and first Asian mayor in November.

A spokesperson for the Boston city government told the news outlet that the city was disappointed by the ruling on Tuesday.

“To protect communities and workplaces against COVID-19, courts across the country have repeatedly recognized the rights of state and local governments to require public employees to be vaccinated,” they said. “More than 95 percent of the City’s workforce is vaccinated because of the policy we enacted. Our workers and residents who rely on city services deserve to be protected.”

In a statement on social media, the Boston Police Superior Officers Federation said the union was not waging an anti-vaccination fight. The organization said that it was “a chance to hold our elected leaders accountable while protecting our member’s labor rights.”