Judge Halts Vaccine Mandate for MN Firefighters

Editor's note: Find Firehouse.com's complete coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic here.

Dec. 23—A judge agreed to temporarily put St. Paul's vaccine mandate for city employees on hold, according to a Thursday court filing.

The St. Paul police and firefighter unions, along with another labor group, filed lawsuits against the city, claiming an unfair labor practice. They sought a temporary restraining order to halt the mandate from being put in place as scheduled at the end of this month.

After Ramsey County District Robert Awsumb heard from both sides on Dec. 9, he took the matter under advisement and then agreed to the order in a Thursday court filing, which says the city is temporarily barred from implementing the vaccine policy until further order from the court.

"The parties are urged to resume negotiations or consider submitting this dispute to binding interest arbitration in the interim," Awsumb wrote. "An arbitrator can resolve the dispute as to whether mandatory vaccination or vaccination with a testing option will be implemented as a term of the (collective bargaining agreement)."

The policy that Mayor Melvin Carter announced in October is different from those in place for government workers at St. Paul Public Schools, Ramsey County, the city of Minneapolis and the state of Minnesota — those allow an option for employees to opt out of vaccination by agreeing to regular COVID-19 testing. St. Paul made the decision to not allow testing because the vaccine is "the best way to fight against" COVID-19, a city attorney said during a hearing.

The lawsuits say the unions didn't reach agreements with the city before Carter announced the mandate. The unions argued it must be bargained or go to arbitration.

An attorney for the city, meanwhile, said during a hearing that they had the right to establish the policy, didn't have to negotiate over it, and they met with the unions in advance of enacting it.

A court scheduling conference is planned for Jan. 20 to address the status of negotiations.

The original mandate called for the city's nearly 4,000 employees to complete a COVID-19 vaccine series by Dec. 31 and provide proof of vaccination by Jan. 14. The police and fire unions previously estimated about 80 percent of their members were vaccinated.

St. Paul's policy stated that people may qualify for a religious exemption or an accommodation due to a medical condition or recent treatment for COVID-19.

The St. Paul Police Federation, International Association of Fire Fighters Local 21 and Tri-Council, which each filed lawsuits over the vaccinate mandate, represent about one-third of St. Paul's workers.

Tri-Council is made up of laborers in the city's Parks and Recreation and Public Works departments, as well as heavy equipment operators, snowplow operators, forestry workers and sewer and water workers.

___

(c)2021 the Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.)

Visit the Pioneer Press (St. Paul, Minn.) at www.twincities.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.