Employment Law, Workplace Investigations & Trade Secrets Litigation
Employment Law, Workplace Investigations & Trade Secrets Litigation
Employment-related disputes may have far-reaching implications for a company’s reputation, business and ability to attract and retain talent. Clients turn to Paul, Weiss for our deft handling of the most sensitive internal investigations, high-stakes employment and executive-related litigations, and business-critical trade secrets, non-competition and restrictive covenant disputes.
New York State Unified Court System Secures Dismissal of Complaint Challenging Vaccine Mandate
- Client News
- October 26, 2023
Paul, Weiss won a significant victory on behalf of our client, the New York State Unified Court System, in another attempt by former court employees to challenge the procedures to obtain a religious exemption from the UCS’s vaccination requirement on constitutional grounds.
Ninety-six current and former court employees—who were denied religious exemptions, retired with reduced benefits, are employed despite receiving “involuntary” vaccinations, or received exemptions—filed a complaint in the Eastern District of New York, alleging that the vaccination requirement violated both the U.S. and the New York State constitutions. The Paul, Weiss team successfully argued a contested pre-motion conference and submitted briefing on the UCS’s motion to dismiss.
U.S. District Judge Frederic Block issued a decision adopting the UCS’s arguments and dismissing the plaintiffs’ complaint. Judge Block agreed with Paul, Weiss that the UCS acted within the scope of its authority under the U.S. and New York State constitutions, and that the plaintiffs’ civil rights claims under Section 1983 and Section 1985 were either barred or failed as a matter of law.
The Paul, Weiss team included litigation partners Bruce Birenboim, Liza Velazquez, Gregory Laufer and Lina Dagnew (who argued the pre-motion hearing).