Man Fired Because of COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Loses Lawsuit

A Niagara Falls man did not like the COVID-19 vaccination and testing rules his employer enacted, and the consequences he faced if he did not follow those same rules.

That man, identified as 55-year-old Julian A. Urban, was released from his job as a computer technical support specialist at Erie 1 BOCES in West Seneca. Urban refused to submit to any vaccines or testing. Since the New York State Health Department requested all school staff to either be vaccinated or submit to routine testing, he was let go from his position.

In December 2021, Mr. Urban filed a lawsuit in New York State Court alleging his constitutional rights were being violated by the vaccine and testing mandates. In his lawsuit, Urban alleged that New York State and Erie 1 BOCES violated his first and fourth amendment rights under the US Constitution, along with several laws.

That lawsuit should've been filed in Federal Court and was upgraded to the Federal District Court of the Western District of New York, in downtown Buffalo, in January 2022.

According to reporting from The Buffalo News, Urban's lawsuit was thrown out of Federal Court on Tuesday, June 21, 2022.

According to the Decision and Order issued by Federal District Judge John Sinatra on May 25, 2022, Urban's lawsuit had a number of errors in it, and he and his legal team were given until June 15, 2022, to correct them.

After more than three (3) weeks, Urban and his legal team did not file any changes to his lawsuit as the judge requested and give them time to do, so the case was tossed out of court.

In his recommendation to dismiss the court case, US Federal Magistrate Judge Jeremiah McCarthy noted that Urban, in his lawsuit, 'has thus far failed to allege a plausible claim for relief, I recommend the motion to dismiss be granted.'

That is exactly what happened, however, the legal claim was dismissed without prejudice, so Urban is able to file a new lawsuit if they so choose.

These 7 Prisons Are The Most Violent In New York State

New York released a report with the most recent number of violent assaults on inmates in state prisons. There were 134 inmate deaths noted in the report, although it doesn't break down the prisons where each death occurred or who caused them. Here's a look at some of the general violent incidents reported for 2020, which is the most recent data reported by the state. Compared to 10 years ago, inmate assaults have almost doubled. In 2011 there were 666 and in 2020 there were 1,205 reported. These numbers do not include inmate assaults on staff members. Overall, the number of unusual incidents includes things like assaults, deaths, accidents, sexual misconduct, and disruptive behavior. According to the state,

"The number of unusual incidents has increased 132% from 5,980 in 2011 to 13,870 in 2020. These higher incident numbers were largely due to increases in assaults on incarcerated individuals (+81%), assaults on staff (+86%), contraband (+130%), disruptive behavior (+372%), and staff use of weapons (+1,035%)."

In 2020, 1,836 weapons used to cut or stab, including ice picks, razor blades, can lids and shanks were discovered in state prisons around New York.

Gallery Credit: Yasmin Young