Judges Are Not 'Employees' of the New York State Court System (as Far as Title VII Is Concerned)
A recent decision in a vaccine-mandate lawsuit held that state court judges are not "employees" of the court system under Title VII, showing that lawsuits brought in response to pandemic-era employment restrictions have not become moot as the world continues to transition to a post-COVID mindset.
November 03, 2023 at 10:00 AM
7 minute read
Just because the world—and the New York state court system along with it—continues to transition to a post-COVID mindset, that does not mean that the many lawsuits brought in response to pandemic-era employment restrictions have suddenly become moot.
To the contrary, a recent decision in a vaccine-mandate lawsuit has just held that state court judges are not "employees" of the court system under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (Title VII).
|Background
As alleged in the complaint, in August 2021, the Chief Judge of New York's Court of Appeals directed that all "employees" of the Office of Court Administration (OCA) had to be vaccinated against COVID-19 unless the employee applied for, and was granted, a religious or medical exemption. The OCA then instituted a Sept. 27, 2021, deadline for all judges to submit proof of COVID-19 vaccinations or an approval for a medical or sincerely-held religious exemption.
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