When it comes to the tremendous debate over COVID-19 vaccinations, one of the most powerful arguments that Americans have made is that their government should not be interfering in their lives in such a way. Medical choices are, after all, inherently personal.
And so, as vaccinate mandates began to roll out around the nation, an enormous percentage of the population refused to comply. Penalties soon got harshThe er, and many Americans found themselves without a job.
Now, in what feels like yet another gargantuan overreach, New York City has apparently shared information about their unvaccinated teachers with the FBI.
New York City sent the fingerprints of unvaccinated public school teachers to the FBI, the educators allege in a lawsuit against the city government.
The city also flagged the teachers, whom the city fired for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine, with a “problem code” that can affect their ability to get another job, Fox News reported.
“Fingerprints are sent with that flag to the FBI and the New York Criminal Justice Services, so it impacts their ongoing ability to get employment at other places,” said John Bursch, a lawyer representing the teachers in their suit against the city.
And it gets worse:
Employees filed suit after New York City mayor Eric Adams (D.) announced on Feb. 6 that he is lifting the city’s COVID mandate. During the course of the mandate, 1,780 New York City employees, including those in the Department of Education, Department of Health, NYPD, and FDNY, lost their jobs for refusing the vaccine, according to the New York Post.
The city denied a religious exemption for one teacher who had worked for New York public schools for 15 years. “Religiously, mentally, I just didn’t want anything experimental on my body, so what criminal activity does that persist?” she asked. “This is an invasion of privacy.”
City employees fired for refusing the vaccine still have to reapply for jobs, without guarantee of their previous salaries or benefits.
There are already lawyers beginning to suggest that some of these employees were “wrongfully terminated”, leading many to believe that some serious lawsuits could be coming over the horizon.
