A D.C. judge ruled Thursday that Mayor Muriel Bowser can no longer require that D.C. government employees get a COVID-19 vaccine, unraveling a mandate that applied to the city’s workforce of more than 30,000.

In a ruling on a lawsuit against vaccine mandate brought by the D.C. Police Union and four police officers in February, Judge Maurice Ross said that Bowser had exceeded her authority when she required that all government employees get vaccinated for COVID-19. Ross said that any such mandate should have been passed into law by the D.C. Council, and not based on executive orders and a COVID-19 emergency bill that expired in early 2022, even though Bowser had asked lawmakers to renew it.

“A vaccine mandate is not an everyday exercise of power,” he wrote in the 17-page ruling. “It is instead a significant encroachment into the life — and health — of an employee. It is strikingly unlike any other workplace regulations typically imposed, as it ‘cannot be undone at the end of the workday.’ Thus, there is an expectation that a vaccine mandate must come from a legislative body.”

Ross also rejected the city’s arguments that Bowser had the power to impose a vaccine mandate as part of her broader authority to regulate occupational and workplace hazards, writing that “although COVID-19 is a risk that can occur in many workplaces, it is not an occupational hazard in most.”

As part of his ruling, Ross said D.C. can no longer enforce the vaccine mandate, and must also reverse any disciplinary actions that were taken against government workers who did not comply.

In an email, a spokesperson for Bowser did not indicate whether they would appeal the decision, but said the city would comply.

“We are reviewing the court’s ruling, and believe that the judge misunderstood the strength and diversity of the authorities we relied upon in issuing the employee vaccination mandate. Over the past year and a half, we have seen that COVID-19 vaccines work — they keep people out of the hospital and save lives. We are grateful for all residents and employees who stepped up and got vaccinated, whether they did so with no reservations or whether they did so nervously but because they knew it was the right thing to do. Because of our collective effort, countless lives have been saved. Going forward, we will comply with the court’s orders as we continue encouraging our community to access life-saving vaccines,” said the spokesperson.

In a statement, Gregg Pemberton, chairman of the D.C. Police Union, called the ruling a “significant victory” for officers and criticized Bowser for engaging in a “long and unnecessary fight” that she could have avoided had she negotiated with the union over the extent of the mandate and possible alternatives for police officers. “Now, all of our members can go back to do the necessary work of trying to protect our communities from crime and violence without unlawful threats of discipline and termination,” he said.

As of earlier this year, D.C. data showed that roughly 90% of the city’s workforce was vaccinated against COVID-19. (The council imposed its own vaccine requirement for lawmakers and staff; officials said earlier this year that compliance was 100%.) But like in other cities, organized opposition to the mandate was loudest among some police officers and firefighters.

In mid-2021, five months into eligibility for the COVID-19 vaccine, just over half of MPD’s 3,600 officers had gotten a vaccine. And earlier this year, D.C. Police Chief Robert J. Contee III said that the vaccine requirement had resulted in the department losing a “significant” number of recruits. “It’s unfortunate but it’s not necessarily a loss,” he said at the time. Police unions in cities from New York to Chicago had similarly put up fights against vaccine mandates. A number of D.C. firefighters similarly fought the city’s mandate, largely by requesting religious exemptions.

Late last year the council passed a vaccine mandate for public school students, and starting next week the city will start enforcing the requirement for students 12 and up. According to D.C. data, some 72% of kids between the ages of 12 and 15 have gotten at least one COVID-19 vaccine, for kids aged 16 and 17, that number is 76%.

This post has been updated with a statement from the Bowser administration.