LA firefighters ask about pay if they are suspended over vaccine

Los Angeles City firefighters challenging coronavirus vaccine mandates say they need to know now whether the city can fire or suspend them without pay while they wait for a judge to rule.

More than 500 city firefighters individually named in a lawsuit brought by a group called the Firefighters 4 Freedom Foundation, have asked a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge to declare the city's vaccine mandate unlawful and enjoin enforcement of it.

However, while they await a ruling, firefighters claim their due process rights are being violated.

"...if the city wants to fire them for standing up for their rights, it should give them the due process they are entitled to under state law. That is all this motion seeks and we hope the court grants it on Dec. 20," attorney Scott J. Street, of counsel with JW Howard Attorneys, who is representing the firefighters, said in an email Friday.

The firefighters, at risk of being suspended or fired, say their due process rights allow them to continue to receive pay while they hold out on their resistance to showing proof they have received the vaccine.

"Los Angeles' firefighters have served courageously on the front lines during the pandemic, including when the COVID-19 shots were not even available," Street said. "We have not seen any evidence that they are unwittingly infecting and killing the people they serve.

Representing the city, Travis T. Hall of the city attorney's office, did not respond to a request for comment Friday.

However, after the lawsuit was filed, City Attorney Mike Feuer said, "The U.S. Supreme Court, and courts across the country, have upheld vaccination mandates by government and they've done so because they said the greater good compels it. The greater good compels this right now. I'm confident we will prevail."

The original deadline for firefighters to show proof of vaccine came and went in October.

The new deadline is Dec. 18. As last week's motion pointed out, over a third of city firefighters would be at risk of losing their jobs if the mandate is not enjoined, leaving an already understaffed fire department even more short-handed.

A hearing to determine whether mandate-defying firefighters should be paid while they wait for a court to rule on the injunction was scheduled for Nov. 23. However, after Judge Stephanie M. Bowick, recused herself from the case due to a family member being a firefighter, the hearing was postponed until April.

Agreeing with the firefighters, newly appointed Judge Michael P. Linfield granted the motion to advance the hearing to Dec. 20.

Street and the firefighters argue that under the California Supreme Court's decision in Skelly v. State Personnel Board, the city must give the firefighters notice and an opportunity to fully contest their discipline with all due process rights before it can stop paying them. Skelly v. State Personnel Board, 15 Cal. 3d 194, 206 (1975).

The ruling could have major implications for government employees challenging vaccine mandates as it will determine whether holdout employees have due process rights during their expected suspensions. If Linfield, a former employee-side attorney, does not side with the firefighters, they may be forced to give in to the city's mandate. Firefighters 4 Freedom Foundation v. City of Los Angeles, 21STCV34490. (L.A. Sup. Ct., filed Sept. 17, 2021).