NYC court workers fired for refusing COVID vaccine must be rehired with arrears as state council lifts mandate

New York City court workers must be rehired — and given back their wages with interest — if they were fired because they refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19, the State Public Affairs Board has ruled.

A decision last month called for the Unified Judiciary to immediately “cease and refrain” from enforcing a policy requiring vaccination or regular testing of all non-judicial employees.

In addition, according to a Feb. 24 ruling obtained by The Post, anyone “who has lost accrued vacation, compensation or employment” should be “rehabilitated” with interest paid “at the highest legal rate.”

The decision concerns at least 25 fired bailiffs, said Dennis Quirk, president of the New York State Bailiffs Association, one of 10 unions that contested the mandate.

In total, about 200 court workers have either been fired, fired or retired, Quirk said Sunday.

Quirk, who said he personally supports vaccination, called the PERB decision “a landmark decision.”

“The human right to choose must not be violated. We live in America, not in Russia,” he said.

Court officials are “reviewing the decision” and considering filing an appeal, UCS spokesman Lucian Chalfen said.

It’s unclear if the decision will affect other state and Big Apple public officials who have refused to vaccinate, some of whom have sued New York.

A spokesman for Mayor Eric Adams said the decision would not apply to city workers because it is “based on a different set of facts and laws” than those that apply to Big Apple employees.

“There have been city mandate ordinances specifically recognizing that this type of assistance is not necessary or justified,” the spokesperson added.

Earlier this month, Adams canceled the city’s mandate to vaccinate municipal employees, but said the nearly 1,800 people who were fired for neglecting it would have to reapply for their old jobs and not get back paychecks.

Meanwhile, unvaccinated part-time judge Jennifer Donlon filed a lawsuit in upstate Hornell in December because she is barred from sitting in court but allowed to appear in court as an attorney.

In a 31-page PERB ruling, Administrative Law Judge Mariam Manichaykul said court officials have a “duty to negotiate” with unions over a September 2021 order requiring non-judicial workers to be vaccinated or regularly tested.

“In adopting the Policy, UCS has unilaterally implemented extensive procedures that involve various terms and conditions of employment, including vacation time, compensation, discipline, job security and medical confidentiality, all of which are subject to negotiation,” she wrote.

Manichaykul ruled that “UCS did not meet the criteria under which an employer is allowed to take unilateral action in an emergency” because it had not bargained with unions beforehand and “had shown no sincere desire to negotiate thereafter.”

Although the negotiations took place from August to December 2021, “UCS’s decision to unilaterally terminate negotiations on the Policy when no agreement has been reached and no deadlock has been declared is a violation” of the Public Employees’ Fair Employment Act, she said.

As of Friday, “overall rates” of COVID-19 were low in New York City and surrounding areas, according to data released online by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Nationwide, nearly 82% of counties had low levels, with the remainder having moderate or high levels, according to the CDC.

The mandate to vaccinate was imposed by former chief state appeals court judge Janet DiFiore, who resigned in July when she reportedly faced ethical scrutiny stemming from her public feud with Quirk over the matter.

The State Commission on Judicial Conduct was reportedly investigating whether DiFiore interfered improperly in a disciplinary hearing against Quirk for posting her home addresses on Facebook to provoke protests there.

In a letter to a hearing officer, DiFiore said Quirk “shows no remorse” and called for “all available means” to “resolve this incident and prevent future misconduct,” according to Law 360, which revealed the investigation.

In December, The Post reported that DiFiore still had bailiffs appointed as chauffeur and protecting her with a pair of state-owned SUVs.

At the time, Chalfen said the unprecedented arrangement was “determined by law enforcement officials in our Department of Public Safety” and flagged “doxing” that revealed her addresses.

Gov. Cathy Hochul’s choice to replace DiFiore, appellate judge Hector LaSalle, was defeated last month by the state Senate, which voted 39-20 to make the centrist Democrat the first nominee ever to be rejected for a seat on the state’s highest court.