West Orange Firefighters Put On Leave After Refusing Vaccines

WEST ORANGE, NJ — West Orange has placed several municipal workers on unpaid leave because they haven’t gotten a coronavirus vaccine.

During the Oct. 26 town council meeting, a veteran firefighter said he and six other West Orange firefighters were put on unpaid leave due to their vaccination status, without the option to remain on the job with routine COVID-19 testing.

The firefighter said he continued to wear a face mask and social distance, despite his vaccination status (watch video below).

Later in the meeting, council president Cindy Matute-Brown said it was concerning that 19 employees in all – including the firefighters – have been placed on unpaid leave because of the mandate.

Although 99 percent of the town’s nonuniformed staff have been vaccinated, the situation is different for uniformed staff, who were walking into situations where the virus was a risk “before the vaccines were even being talked about,” Matute-Brown said.

“Not only are they our staff and our employees, but they’re also our residents, friends and neighbors,” Matute-Brown said, adding that she plans to ask town administrators to reconsider allowing a testing alternative to the vaccine mandate.

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Municipal workers in West Orange were required to submit proof that they’re fully vaccinated or have received a first inoculation of COVID-19 vaccine by Oct. 15. Appointments must be scheduled so that the employee will be fully vaccinated no later than Nov. 30.

Other highlights of the town’s vaccine mandate include:

• An employee may request a reasonable accommodation to getting vaccinated due to a disability or a “sincerely held religious belief.” Employees who are granted a reasonable accommodation will be required to be COVID-19 tested within 72 hours prior to each workday.
• Employees who are not yet fully vaccinated but are in the process of becoming fully vaccinated will only be permitted to work if they have received a negative COVID-19 test result within the previous 72 hours until they are fully vaccinated.
• If the township determines a booster vaccination is required, all employees must provide written proof of the COVID-19 booster vaccination within 30 days.

If a West Orange municipal worker refuses to get vaccinated and doesn’t qualify for an exemption, here’s what happens:

“Employees who decide not to become vaccinated who are not entitled to any reasonable accommodations will be granted an unpaid leave of absence for up to a maximum of 180 calendar days or until such time as COVID-19 vaccination is no longer required if that occurs first. Employees may NOT utilize accrued paid time off (PTO) benefits to continue being compensated during the leave of absence. Health benefit coverage for unvaccinated employees will continue during the 180-day unpaid leave of absence if employees pay the township their portion of health benefits during the leave of absence. Employees will NOT receive pension credits during this unpaid leave of absence.”

In addition:

“Any employee who does not comply with this policy will be required to remain on unpaid leave until proof of compliance in accordance with the deadlines in this policy. Non-compliance with this policy for more than six months will result in progressive discipline, up to and including, termination. Those employees who fail to comply with this policy will be considered to be unfit and unable to perform their duties and subject to disciplinary charges.”

MUNICIPAL MANDATES

West Orange isn’t the only place in Essex County where some municipal workers have refused to get vaccinated.

In August, Newark officials announced that New Jersey's largest city will be requiring all municipal workers to get a COVID-19 vaccine, or they could lose their jobs. There will be "medical and religious exemptions" to the city's mandate, which gave employees 30 days to provide proof they got inoculated. Like in West Orange, the Newark mandate doesn’t include a testing option for unvaccinated employees.

Police and fire department union leaders tried to file a restraining order to stop the effort, with one union official calling the move "heavy-handed." Dozens of police and firefighters showed up at a protest at City Hall to voice their opposition to the mandate.

• See related article: Cops, Firefighters Protest Newark Vaccine Mandate At City Hall

The New Jersey Public Employment Relations Commission (PERC) eventually ruled that the city must negotiate parts of the mandate with unions, such as potential discipline, testing, "privacy concerns" and the timeframe for the policy's rollout.

But in September, an appellate court felt differently, ruling that the unions failed to show that the harm to city employees caused by the mandate is greater than the harm to the city.

"The unions' arguments ignore the well-established law that negotiations of managerial prerogatives are not required if the negotiations significantly interfere with the public employer's ability to set policy," the panel added, remanding the matter to the state PERC for further proceedings.

• See related article: Newark City Worker Vaccine Mandate Survives Court Challenge

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