Lawyers for three unions that represent city police, firefighters and civilian employees are suing the city administration, claiming that COVID-19 vaccination, testing and masking policies established in December violate union contracts and are illegal.
The lawsuit, filed during the past week in Monroe Circuit Court, asks that a judge review the union contracts and the city's new COVID-19 policies to determine if they align.
The unions also are seeking a temporary injunction of the rules "to protect the rights of their respective members."
The lawsuit was filed by Edward Merchant, a partner inan Indianapolis law firm that specializes in police and firefighter union issues. Bloomington-based attorney Eric Koch is the plaintiff's local lawyer.
According to the complaint, the city's Dec. 23 COVID-19 policy imposes terms and conditions of employment that the city "did not negotiate or reach an agreement over with plaintiffs" and "constitutes a change to the terms and conditions of plaintiffs
employment, to which plaintiffs did not agree."
It challenges penalties imposed for non-compliance, and questions a part of the policy that requires unvaccinated employees to pay for their own now-required COVID-19 tests.
The lawsuit also states it is against state law for the city to require employees to produce "an immunization passport and/or information regarding an individual’s immunization status."
One line in the lawsuit sums up the bottom line: "A controversy has thus arisen...
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