With COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles tripling in the past week, a judge ruled Tuesday that the city could terminate Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) firefighters who refuse to receive the vaccine.
The LAFD’s first attempt to fire unvaccinated firefighters was in compliance with the Los Angeles Vaccination Ordinance for City Employees.
Los Angeles Supreme Court Justice Michael Linfield denied a motion by the nonprofit Firefighters4Freedom to block the city’s vaccine mandate for violating medical freedoms, stating that the public health risk outweighs any such freedoms.
“The unvaccinated firefighters have not shown any breach of due process, they have not shown that the city misused its discretion in passing the vaccination mandate, and they have not shown sufficient breach of their privacy rights,” Linfield wrote in his ruling. “In addition, weighing up the damage predominantly weighs against the issuance of this temporary injunction.”
“The evidence of COVID-19 outbreaks at the fire station merely underscores the fact that the global COVID-19 pandemic continues to turn daily life upside down and threaten public safety.”
Linfield went on to write, “It cannot be seriously argued that the city did not have sufficient evidence to declare a state of emergency.”
While the lawsuit is still open to appeal, Linfield’s decision means that Firefighters4Freedom’s firefighters will continue to remain unpaid by the LAFD and may be legally terminated. Linfield even stated in his statement that “the plaintiff, Firefighters4Freedom, is unlikely to prevail in the process”.
“I am disappointed with the analysis and the results,” Firefighters4Freedom attorney Scott Street told Courthouse News. “But as the judge mentioned yesterday, this is just the beginning of the case and we expect a lot more litigation to open in 2022.”
Los Angeles Attorney Mike Feuer, however, praised Linfield’s decision, noting that the city has now turned down an anti-vaccine application from a first responder group for the third time.
“For the third time this month, my office successfully blocked a misguided attempt to stop the vaccination mandate – an attempt that would have endangered the health of the public and other first responders,” said Feuer. “This court has underscored the hardship we continue to face in the strongest possible way so far.”
The city’s vaccine mandate comes as Los Angeles continues to record skyrocketing cases, fueled primarily by the rampaging Omicron variant. This has helped the number of COVID-19 positive reports jump from 1,000 to 3,000 in the past week, according to public health data.
“This is already the third biggest high point in our history,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Tuesday. “We’ll have most of the cases soon. This is a crucial moment for all of us. “
However, when asked what steps would be taken in the city to tackle the rising COVID cases, Garcetti said “I don’t see a lockdown”. Urging the public to keep getting vaccinated and booster vaccinations, he said, “I think we are so much better than before. We can do that. “
Despite the highest number of cases, Los Angeles still has a promising number of vaccinations. As of Tuesday, over 15 million doses of the shot had been administered, according to Los Angeles County.
TheCurrentNews has asked LAFD for a comment.
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