As more and more cities activate new COVID-19 regulations, New York City is requiring all city workers to become vaccinated.
According to NY Times, city workers must receive one dose of the vaccination by the end of the month or have “an approved exemption.” If not, they will no longer be paid.
This mandate will take place starting Nov 1st. Police officers, firefighters, and sanitation workers must all adhere to the new policy.
“Any city worker who does not get vaccinated by the deadline will be placed on unpaid leave. Medical and religious exemptions will be allowed ‘for a small number of employees,'” a city official stated.
Unlike before, weekly testing is no longer an option. This mandate supersedes the city’s mandate earlier this year, which tested city workers weekly to ensure they tested negative for COVID-19.
If city workers don’t receive the vaccine, they will be placed on administrative leave.
“Any city worker who does not get vaccinated by the deadline will be placed on unpaid leave. Medical and religious exemptions will be allowed ‘for a small number of employees,'” the city official added.
According to the NY Times, workers who take the first dose will receive an extra $500. “Workers who get their first doses at city-run vaccination sites between now and Oct. 29 will receive an extra $500 in their paychecks, the mayor said.”
The report states, “The extended mandate in New York will affect roughly 160,000 employees, 46,000 of whom have not received a vaccine dose yet…The city has more than 300,000 workers, but nearly half were already under a strict vaccine mandate because of their occupations. “
Mayor de Blasio says, “We need to reassure all New Yorkers that if you’re working with a public employee, they’re vaccinated.”
The mandate was met with resistance from the police union. The Police Benevolent Association stated that legal action will be taken against the mandate.
“Now that the city has moved to unilaterally impose a mandate, we will proceed with legal action to protect our members’ rights,” the union’s president, Patrick J. Lynch, said in a statement.”
It’s also reported that this is one of the strictest rules in the country and comes after a mandate for teachers and health care workers caused a surge in vaccinations.
Should city workers be required to receive the vaccination?
