Unredacted emails obtained after a three-year legal battle show that top New York City officials and government lawyers coordinated efforts to counter requests for religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccine mandates, privately dismissing the exemption requests as \u201cBS.\u201d Attorneys said the \u201csmoking gun\u201d emails raise constitutional questions and could impact lawsuits filed by fired workers.<\/p>\n
The records, obtained through New York\u2019s Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), show top city officials and government lawyers working together behind the scenes to push back on religious exemption requests, privately dismissing workers\u2019 beliefs while building arguments to help arbitrators deny them.<\/p>\n
Attorney Jimmy Wagner, who led the records fight, said the documents expose a \u201csmoking gun.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the lawsuits over the documents, the unredacted versions were visible to everyone in the courtroom except the plaintiffs\u2019 attorneys, Wagner said. City lawyers knew exactly what the emails contained while making arguments that directly contradicted them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re literally arguing out of both sides of their mouth,\u201d Wagner said.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/childrenshealthdefense.org\/defender\/smoking-gun-emails-show-new-york-city-officials-played-role-firing-unvaccinated-workers\/?<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Unredacted emails obtained after a three-year legal battle show that top New York City officials and government lawyers coordinated efforts to counter requests for religious exemptions from COVID-19 vaccine mandates, privately dismissing the exemption requests as \u201cBS.\u201d Attorneys said the … Continue reading