Seven employees from Granada Hills Charter who were fired this week for refusing to get their COVID-19 shots are believed to be the first public school employees in California to lose their jobs over such vaccination mandates, an attorney representing some of the workers said Thursday, Oct. 28.
The school’s board of directors voted unanimously the day before to fire the employees, who were denied exemptions, including ones based on religious beliefs, according to attorney James Lloyd.
“They just up and fired them,” Lloyd said of the board of directors, adding that he plans to file a lawsuit on behalf of at least four of the terminated employees. “They completely disregarded (the employees’) First Amendment rights. There’s a guarantee under the First Amendment that allows for freedom of religion.”
In a statement, Granada Hills Charter, which is located in the San Fernando Valley, said while the state’s vaccination mandate for school employees in California permits individuals to undergo weekly COVID-19 testing in lieu of getting their shots, the school must abide by the Los Angeles Unified School District’s vaccination policy.
“As a charter school authorized by and subject to the oversight of the Los Angeles Unified School District … and which is located on LAUSD facilities, GHC must also comply with LAUSD’s vaccine mandate that all charter school employees be fully vaccinated,” the statement said. “…No testing alternative is available under LAUSD’s vaccine mandate. Failure to comply with authorizer requirements, such as the vaccine mandate, can result in charter revocation.”
The statement also said that while the school accommodated employees who needed extra time to get vaccinated because of medical reasons, it “cannot accommodate any employees who refused to ever get vaccinated.”
Granada Hills Charter employs 550 staff members, of which more than 98% have been vaccinated, according to school officials.
Social studies teacher Iris Arnold, one of the fired employees, said in a statement she offered to undergo daily coronavirus testing.
“I teach students the importance of the United States Constitution, and the freedoms and rights it preserves,” she said. “I never expected the GHC Governing Board to coerce me into taking the Covid vaccination as a condition of employment.”
In addition to requiring staff to get vaccinated, the Granada Hills Charter School board recently adopted a student vaccination mandate.
The school’s student mandate is similar to one adopted by LAUSD, which has been hit with at least two lawsuits over its student mandate.
Both Granada Hills Charter and LAUSD are requiring students 12 or older to receive their first vaccine dose by some time in mid-November and their second by mid-December. Both the charter school and LAUSD will consider medical exemptions, but neither will allow for exemptions based on religious or personal beliefs.
Meanwhile, LAUSD’s own staff vaccination mandate went into effect last week. Although the district agreed to pay unvaccinated workers who did not receive a workplace accommodation through the end of October, it could fire employees starting next week. Some impacted employees have indicated plans to sue the district.