A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has denied a preliminary injunction requested by a police union that sought to ban the city from requiring officers to be tested for COVID-19 using a company that is co-owned by an appointed commissioner of Los Angeles Fire and Police Pensions (LAFPP).
“An order enjoining the city from implementing ordinance 18734 and/or enforcement of the city's resolution for non-compliance with the ordinance raises significant public safety issues about which there is no dispute in the evidence,” wrote Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff in his Dec. 13 order.
“The harm created by enjoining implementation of the ordinance and resolution subjects City employees to the risk of substantial and irreparable physical harm in the workplace. Moreover, given peace officer involvement in the community, the community would be subjected to similar risks. Such harm to the community and the City's workforce, in the court's view, substantially outweighs the reputational harm.”
The Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL) sued the City of Los Angeles and the City of Los Angeles Administrative Officer, Matt Szabo, two months ago challenging the involvement of LAFPP Commissioner Pedram Salimpour in Bluestone, the company that the City awarded a COVID-19 testing contract worth $3 million.
“Salimpour and the City are on record denying he had any engagement in the process and I've got that denial in writing,” said Tom Saggau, LAPPL spokesperson. “He was able to reach out to the head of the city on the administrative side, Matt Szabo, and get red carpet treatment in pushing him through. We've asked the City what other companies did you vet because this is a no-bid contract. They say they looked at other companies but they won't disclose who they are, what the process was, or any of that. It begs the question. ‘How shady is this deal?’”
As previously reported in the Southern California Record, unvaccinated police officers and firefighters, who are city employees, must submit to a COVID-19 test twice a week. The price of the test is $65 and the cost is deducted from their salaries.
“Our lawsuit never questioned the city's ability to implement a mandate,” Saggau told the Southern California Record. “We never tried to overturn the mandate. Our concern is that they are making the employees pay for testing, which we believe is a violation of the labor code. We question why can’t the officers go to CVS or through their health insurance or to the county's free testing?”
The plaintiffs were also denied a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on Nov. 10.
“We’ve seen over the past several years, this era of corruption that has enveloped city hall,” Saggau added. “Council members are indicted, sentenced, and serving time. We've got two other council members that are under federal indictment for pay to play. It's not just ‘You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours.’ It's ‘You scratch my back while I reach for a bag of money.’”