REPORT: 113 Firefighters Taken Off Duty Without Pay Over Vaccine Mandate

The Los Angeles Fire Department has removed 113 firefighters from duty without pay after they failed to get vaccinated per the city’s vaccine mandate, according to ABC 7.

Los Angeles requires all municipal employees to get the coronavirus vaccine by Dec. 18 and those who are not yet vaccinated must be regularly tested, with the cost of each test falling on the employee.

The department placed 113 firefighters on leave without pay Monday after having sent 222 notices to personnel in November warning of the consequences for refusing to take the vaccine, according to ABC 7. Los Angeles Fire Department’s Cheryl Getuiza said the daily number of members who are off-duty without pay changes each day depending on whether firefighters get vaccinated or submit to testing, according to the report.

#BREAKING: 113 LAFD firefighters removed from duty without pay for failing to meet city’s vaccination mandatehttps://t.co/iBW3ucCTVD

— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) December 7, 2021

Any firefighter who refuses to get the vaccine before the deadline “will be entered into the process for termination of their employment, as outlined in the City Charter,” Getuiza said, according to the outlet. (RELATED: De Blasio Announces That NYC Will Mandate Vaccines For Private Sector Workers)

Three-hundred and twenty-one individuals in the department have filed for an exemption, according to ABC7. Each exemption request is reviewed on a case-by-case basis and if the exemption is approved the city will cover testing expenses, according to the report. If the exemption request is denied, the employee can file an appeal.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Mary Strobel denied a request from the city’s firefighters’ union on Friday asking for a preliminary injunction preventing the mandate from being enforced, ruling in the interest of public health, according to ABC 7.

The union argued the city failed to “bargain in good faith” with them over the mandate and wanted the injunction until the city and the union could work things out, according to the report.

The Los Angeles Fire Department did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.

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