'It cannot be seriously argued that the city did not have sufficient evidence to declare a state of emergency,' a judge wrote in the opinion.
As cases of COVID-19 have tripled in Los Angeles over the past week, a judge ruled Tuesday that the city was permitted to terminate Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters who refuse to get the vaccine.
"The unvaccinated firefighters have not shown a due process violation, they have not shown that the City abused its discretion in passing the vaccination mandate, and they have not shown a sufficient violation of their privacy rights," Linfield wrote in his decision."Further, the balance of harm weighs overwhelmingly against granting this injunction."
A Los Angeles County judge has ruled that the LAFD is allowed to dismiss firefighters who refuse to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Here, an LAFD truck is seen outside of Los Angeles' Union Station in 2020.While the lawsuit can still be appealed, Linfield's decision means that the firefighters from Firefighters4Freedom can continue to go unpaid by the LAFD and could legally face termination.