The decision in a case before the Illinois Labor Relations Board applies to city workers represented by trade unions or by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The unions banded together to challenge regulations Mayor Lori Lightfoot imposed starting in 2021.

Administrative Law Judge Anna Hamburg-Gal said the city violated the Illinois Public Labor Relations Act by not bargaining in good faith over vaccine requirements and changes in sick leave policies. Her ruling, issued Wednesday, requires the city to “make whole” workers who lost pay and benefits, plus 7% annual interest.

The ruling is a broad rebuke of Lightfoot’s get-tough policies on city workers who resisted vaccination mandates, but it’s not known how many employees were penalized. One source said a few dozen employees may be directly affected by the decision.

Hamburg-Gal’s ruling goes to the agency’s board for review, and any party in the case has 30 days to file an appeal, called an “exception” in this process. The agency’s final decision can be contested directly with the Illinois Appellate Court.

“We think it’s a strong decision and favorable for worker rights generally,” said Anders Lindall, a spokesman for AFSCME. “At issue in this case is whether an employer has an obligation to bargain over significant changes to terms and conditions of employment.”

Robert Reiter Jr., president of the Chicago Federation of Labor, said through a spokesman that the ruling “defends the rights of workers to have a say in their workplace through collective bargaining. We are hopeful that the full board will uphold the decision of the [judge] and the City will not seek to file exceptions.”

The mayor’s office said the ruling “was an erroneous decision that does not follow the law, facts, nor importantly, the science. We are currently reviewing the ruling and evaluating next steps.”

The office would not discuss the case beyond its statement.

The ruling does not directly affect police officers, although the Fraternal Order of Police has its own case pending before the state board. FOP President John Catanzara led resistance to Lightfoot’s vaccine mandate and likened it to the Holocaust — a move that drew condemnation from the Anti-Defamation League and ultimately an apology from the outspoken union boss.

On Thursday, Catanzara lauded the ruling as “a pretty resounding win for labor in this city and state.”

He said there’s “no reason” to continue pursuing the separate labor board case brought by the FOP, which he noted was bogged down by a “legal fight” stemming from an arbitrator’s decision to uphold the city’s mandate.

“Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson is championing union rights,” Catanzara said in a Youtube video. “Well, this is his first true test. Are they going to challenge the labor board ruling? Or are they just going to accept it, move on and do the right thing on behalf of all union members in this city?”

In March 2022, Lightfoot insisted that only 16 police officers were on no-pay status for defying the vaccine mandate.

In October 2021, “the pandemic had been in existence for well over a year and a vaccine had been available to the public for over 10 months under Emergency Use Authorization,” Hamburg-Gal said in rejecting the city’s argument that “exigent circumstances” allowed it to impose the rules.

“Multiple” employees, she said, were placed on non-paid status for missing those deadlines, and some were fired starting in August 2022, she said. “The Respondent thereby elected to pursue a far harsher approach than it had taken before against violators of its vaccination policy,” Hamburg-Gal wrote.

The case affects union members working as carpenters, electricians, plumbers, laborers, operating engineers and other job categories.

Judge orders Chicago to reinstate employees docked and fired for refusing to get COVID-19 shot

An Illinois judge has ruled that Chicago city employees who were fired for refusing to get a COVID-19 vaccine must be reinstated and that the mandate be rescinded.

More than 20 unions representing city workers signed on to an unfair labor practices lawsuit with the state panel after outgoing Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot imposed the policy in 2021.

Administrative Law Judge Anna Hamburg-Gal said in a 78-page decision that while the city was within its right to implement a vaccine requirement for workers, it failed to negotiate with the union over the consequences, which included putting employees on a “no-pay status” and later terminating them completely. The city should have negotiated with the union until both sides reached an agreement or were at an impasse, Hamburg-Gal said.

She ordered Chicago to reinstate the employees who were punished and have their personnel records wiped clean and pay workers for lost pay with 7% interest.

Chicago Federation of Labor President Bob Reiter said in a statement that Wednesday’s ruling “defends the rights of workers to have a say in their workplace through collective bargaining.”

A spokesperson for the city said Lightfoot was “reviewing the ruling and evaluating next steps,” the Chicago Tribune reported.

Lightfoot has less than 30 days left on the job. Democratic Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson, a former teacher and union organizer, will be sworn in on May 15.