Restaurant owner Leonardo DeFranco and executive director of the Fulton Market association Roger Romanelli joined 'Fox & Friends First' to discuss the new mandate.
An Illinois judge ruled that the city of Chicago must rehire and pay back lost wages of unionized city employees who were fired or disciplined for violating COVID-19 vaccination requirements.
Administrative law judge Anna Hamburg-Gal, writing on behalf of the Illinois Labor Relations Board, said that the city "failed and refused" to bargain in good faith with union leaders "over the effects of its decision to implement a COVID-19 vaccine mandate."
The decision applies to unionized city of Chicago employees working as carpenters, bricklayers, plumbers, electricians, machinists, and other job categories.
Affected employees must also be paid back lost wages and benefits with 7% annual interest, according to the ruling.
Illinois judge ruled Chicago must hire and pay back workers fired over COVID-19 vaccination requirements. (iStock)
In 2021, Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced all city employees must be fully vaccinated. She warned there would be "consequences" for any city employee who wasn't fully vaccinated by that October.
"Employees who fail to report their vaccination status by October 15, 2021, will be placed in a non-disciplinary, no pay status," a press release stated at the time.
Lightfoot's mandate was not well received by workers, some of whom loudly booed her while speaking at a union fundraiser later that month.
Those unions celebrated the most recent ruling.
