NJ Corrections Officers File To Stop Vaccine Mandate: Report

NEW JERSEY — Corrections officers in New Jersey are seeking a court order halting Governor Phil Murphy's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for some state workers, according to a report.

The New Jersey State Policemen's Benevolent Association (PBA) is looking to file a restraining order in state court, according to NJ.com. Twenty-eight local PBA chapters are involved.

Last week, Murphy signed an executive order requiring workers at health care facilities "and high-risk congregate settings" including correctional facilities to have a COVID-19 vaccine and a booster dose.

Pat Colligan, the PBA state president, said in a statement the union does not understand why Murphy signed this new order if the number of positive COVID-19 cases is declining.

Health care workers who remain unvaccinated have until Jan. 27 to get their first dose and must complete their primary vaccination series by Feb. 28. High-risk, congregate employees have to receive their first dose by Feb. 28 and their second by March 30.

Those eligible for a booster shot and haven't received it yet have until the following deadlines to get it: Feb. 28 for health care workers and March 30 for employees in congregate settings. Workers who will become booster-eligible after the cutoffs will have to receive the shot within their first three weeks of booster eligibility.

Patch has reached out to the New Jersey PBA for more information.

This article originally appeared on the Across New Jersey Patch