Lawsuit Challenging City's Authority to Enact Vaccination Policy Dismissed
An Illinois Appellate Court recently dismissed a challenge to a City's COVID-19 employee vaccination policy because the employees did not identify any legal authority to support their claim that the City violated the law in adopting the policy. Sokolovski et al v. Arwady, City of Chicago et al.
In 2021, the City adopted a COVID-19 vaccination policy that required every City employee, contractor, or vendor who had contact with certain persons in the City to be vaccinated against COVID-19 unless exempted. A group of City employees filed a lawsuit to challenge the policy, claiming the City had no authority to require vaccination. The case was dismissed and the employees appealed.
On appeal, the employees argued the policy was unlawful because the City did not expressly identify any state statutory authority or municipal authority for the City to adopt the vaccination policy. The employees also argued that because the policy itself did not specifically state that the Mayor or City Council created the policy, the City had no authority to adopt or enforce the vaccination policy. The City defended its policy claiming it had authority under the Illinois Municipal Code to manage its workforce and to make regulations for the promotion of health or the suppression of diseases. The Appellate Court rejected the employees' arguments, finding no support for their claim that the policy had to name a specific City official who authorized the policy and identify the express authority relied upon to enact the policy. As a result, the lawsuit against the City to challenge the vaccination policy was properly dismissed.
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