Pacific Justice Institute:
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PJI TAKES THE FIGHT TO NEW JERSEY!
6 New Jersey Correctional Officers Fired
After Refusing Covid-19 Vaccine
January 9, 2023
Media Contact: (916) 616-4126
Trenton, New Jersey – The Pacific Justice Institute is fighting the illegal terminations of six Christian correctional officers from the New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission over their sincere religious refusal of the vaccine mandate.
Early in 2022, in response to Gov. Murphy’s Executive Orders 283/290, six correctional officers submitted a request for exemption from the COVID-19 vaccine mandate based upon their sincerely held Christian beliefs.
Each of these officers worked for the Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC). The JJC denied nearly every religious request for an exemption from the vaccine. Sarah Pascale, DCAO, of the New Jersey Office of Attorney General signed the denials. Each denial contained the exact same language. Despite clear medical proof that vaccines do not prevent COVID-19 transmission, the officers were told that being unvaccinated supposedly risked introducing or spreading COVID-19 inside the correctional facility.
The State then fired each correctional officer.
“These individuals were fired for their religious beliefs and such an outright violation of the law is completely unacceptable and one that we take with sincere regards” stated PJI Staff Attorney for New Jersey Karyn White.
While officers at the JJC were fired for their religious beliefs, nearly 2,000 other officers were permitted by the NJ Department of Corrections (DOC) to continue working unvaccinated and were granted religious exemptions. Both officers at the JJC and DOC perform the exact same job duties. “This inconsistent treatment of JJC officers is completely illogical since the JJC houses juveniles who are at much lower risk from COVID-19 than the adult offenders housed by the DOC”, stated PJI Founder and President Brad Dacus.
Moreover, the JJC granted nearly every request for a medical exemption from the COVID-19 vaccine.
Additionally, several of these six (6) individuals worked in areas in the JJC, which would have easily allowed them to remain socially distant from others. Kurtis Warner and Jessica Ross worked in control booths that were entirely enclosed and had no more than one individual in the booth at any time. John Jester worked entirely outside in an area known as the “link.” The inmates were not in Mr. Jester’s presence for more than two or three minutes. Tim Jillson was the union vice president and worked in a private office separate from the main JJC facility. These individuals should have been permitted to continue working unvaccinated by wearing masks, social distancing, and getting regular testing.
What is most outrageous is the following:
John Jester has worked honorably for the JJC for nearly 22 years. He was only a few years away from receiving a full pension with health benefits for life. Tim Jillson and Kurtis Warner dedicated over 17 years to the JJC. Each of these individuals’ service to the State has protected some of the most vulnerable members of our society – children involved in the criminal justice system. If these unlawful terminations are not overturned, Mr. Jester, Mr. Jillson, and Mr. Warner will lose their pension. Despite this significant risk, each is committed to holding the State accountable for its terrible, unlawful, and unacceptable treatment of its employees.
“For over 25 years PJI has stood for the defense of those religious freedoms we hold so dear and in egregious scenarios such as this, where these correctional officers are willing to sacrifice their means of financial survival for their God given rights, PJI will stand with them and many others across America being purged from their jobs because of their faith”, said Brad Dacus.
Pacific Justice Institute (PJI) represents these individuals in their legal efforts to get their jobs back. PJI is a national non-profit that provides free legal representation to individuals in defense of their religious freedoms. More information about PJI can be found at www.pji.org.
The Hon. William T. Cooper, III, Administrative Law Judge in the New Jersey Office of Administrative Law, issued a decision on December 13, 2022, granting the State’s motion to dismiss the officers appeal and upholding the terminations. Judge Cooper refused to give the officers a hearing on the matter. An appeal of Judge Cooper’s decision has been filed with the Civil Service Commission, Division of Appeals and Regulatory Affairs, and sent to the attention of Nicholas F. Angiulo, Director. That appeal is pending.
Please contact Karyn L. White, Esq., at
[email protected] for more information.
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