Home » Health » Can workers fired for not getting vaccinated apply for unemployment benefits? – Telemundo New York (47)

Can workers fired for not getting vaccinated apply for unemployment benefits? – Telemundo New York (47)

As planned, up to 4,000 New York City municipal employees they would lose their jobs on friday for refusing to comply with the coronavirus vaccine mandate.

Mayor Eric Adams said these employees have been on unpaid leave for months for refusing to receive the vaccine, but now face termination under rules established by the previous administration.

Adams will enforce the mandate of his predecessor Bill de Blasio.

“They are resigning. I will not fire them, they will quit,” she expressed during a recent interview with NY1.

The question that remains now is whether workers who lose their jobs because of their refusal to be vaccinated would meet the criteria for unemployment benefits.

In general, employees who quit or are terminated for refusing an employment directive do not meet the criteria to apply for unemployment compensation. New York and other states point out that resisting the vaccination mandate is equivalent to a voluntary resignation, which means that the employee cannot obtain unemployment insurance.

Unemployment Insurance, or UI, is a federal-state program designed to provide temporary support to people who lose their jobs through no fault of their own.

Although benefits are overseen by the federal government, each state administers its own unemployment program and sets the requirements.

The United States Department of Labor establishes that benefits may be granted if:

  • You lose your job through no fault of your own.
  • You meet the employment and salary requirements established by your state.

In most cases, the state can deny financial aid if it can show that a worker quit without “good cause” or was fired for misconduct or violation of company policies. And those policies may involve mandatory vaccination.

Also, each state sets its own definition of “cause.” And in New York, the vaccine mandate is considered a “reasonable policy” which is supported by scientific research, which suggests that vaccines are safe.

The New York State Department of Labor has been emphatic that employees who refuse required vaccinations in both the public and private sectors do not qualify for unemployment insurance.

At the federal level, because vaccine mandates are relatively new, there are no precedent-setting court decisions on the issue yet. That’s why many legal experts estimate that unemployment claims would be determined on a case-by-case basis.

MEDICAL OR RELIGIOUS EXCEPTION

The medical and religious exemption is an issue that is still up for debate in court, but you are more likely to qualify for unemployment in that case.

The New York Department of Labor has stated that while the criteria would be determined case by caseworkers in the health care and education sectors “who voluntarily quit or are terminated for refusing an employer-mandated vaccination do not qualify for UI, but a valid exemption request is under consideration.”

A valid waiver request encompasses Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (covering religious exemptions) and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (covering medical exemptions), depending on the Federal Department of Labor.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which is the administrative entity that enforces anti-discrimination laws, provided guidance on the subject.

However, even if an applicant may qualify for an exemption because of a disability or a deeply held religious belief, the employer may still have a defense against unemployment payment if it can show that conforming to a religious view would be an undue hardship on both the employer and the employer. as for the rest of the staff.

But some requests for exemptions may not be strong enough, since most major religions do not ban vaccines.

“The only people who should not be vaccinated are those who have had a severe allergic reaction, such as anaphylaxis, immediately after a first dose of the vaccine or a component of the COVID-19 vaccine,” the CDC notes. Other scientific guidance that may invalidate an exemption.

If a worker applies for unemployment benefits and the employer disputes the claim, the case will likely end up in court.

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