Courts

NEW: Lawsuit representing 1,200 first responders filed to stop mandatory Covid vaccines

August 14, 2021

Famed attorney Michael Green announced he’s filing a massive lawsuit representing some 1,200 first responders against the Hawaii Governor’s vaccine mandate. Thousands more Hawaiians are expected to join the suit in what could become a major class-action lawsuit against the government’s Covid measures.

In early August, Hawaii Governor David Ige mandated that all state and county employees must provide proof vaccination or be subject to regular COVID-19 testing at their own cost and could be fired if they don’t comply.

Representatives for the first responders and other government employees say governor’s option for Covid testing runs afoul their collective bargaining agreements, and presents a whole set of burdensome problems for the workers.

Green and fellow attorney Sean Williams say the governor’s Covid mandate violates the Constitution and federal law.

During a Friday press conference with Green and Williams, Honolulu Fire Captain Kaimi Pelekai gave a passionate plea, calling for an end to the mandate. “I have to choose between that career that I’m committed to or put in an experimental drug that I don’t know what it’s gonna do to me in my body, or I got to give all that up,” said Pelekai asked.

Pelekai says Honolulu officials have taking the governor’s mandate to the extreme by sending workers a letter saying they must get vaccinated or show proof of a religious or medical exemption by Monday. Failure to comply could result in lost of their job, Pelekai said.

City officials confirmed the letter that was sent to workers and released a statement from the Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi saying, “I stand behind the decision to protect City employees, their families and our communities, while also reducing the number of positive COVID-19 cases.”

“The heavy-handedness that we are now seeing is shocking to the conscious for Hawaii especially, and there’s got to be a voice,” said Green.

Watch the press conference here:

Categories: Courts, covid

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