Hundreds of NYC jailers face suspension over vaccine mandate

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City’s troubled jail system is facing more turmoil: the suspension of potentially hundreds of corrections officers for failing to meet a Tuesday night deadline to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

The city’s Department of Correction reported 77% of its staff had gotten at least one vaccine dose as of 5 p.m. Monday, the lowest of any city agency, meaning about 1,900 employees had yet to comply with the mandate. It was delayed a month for jail workers because of existing staffing shortages.

Jail workers who've applied for religious or medical exemptions can continue to work while their cases are reviewed, officials said. Jail officials said they would release data Wednesday detailing how many workers sought for an exemption.

Workers who haven't applied for an exemption and who failed to show proof of vaccination by 5 p.m. Tuesday were to be placed on unpaid leave and surrender any city-issued firearms and protective gear, officials said.

In anticipation of the looming mandate, Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday issued an emergency executive order designed to beef up jail staffing by authorizing a switch to 12-hour shifts from the normal 8-hour tours.

The president of the union for jail guards balked at that move saying it was “reckless and misguided.” The union said it would sue to block the mandate — the same tactic a police union tried in late October as the vaccine requirement for officers neared. The police union lost and the mandate went into effect as scheduled.

Benny Boscio Jr., the president of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, said staffing in the city's jails is as bad or worse than it was in October, when de Blasio announced jail workers would have extra time to meet the vaccine mandate.

Fewer than 100 of a promised 600...