NEWBURGH HEIGHTS, Ohio — The mayor of a village in Cuyahoga County is not backing down from requiring all city employees to get vaccinated or lose their jobs.
Their policy requires Newburgh Heights employees, from office staff to emergency responders, to get the COVID-19 vaccine in order to stay on the job or face termination on September 1.
A Case Western law professor said a mandate like this is legal since the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the agency that handles anti-discrimination laws agree, but there are exceptions.
"Employers do however have to make exceptions for people who have medical or religious reasons not to get a vaccine. So those people have to be accommodated if at all possible," professor of law and bioethics at Case Western Sharona Hoffman said.
The mayor said that they'll make those exceptions for the people that meet the requirements. He said they'll be placed on paid leave until the CDC lifts the COVID-19 pandemic state of emergency.