Photo Courtesy of Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Officee
“As we continue our recovery for all of us, City workers have been a daily inspiration. Now is the time for them to show their city the path out of this pandemic once and for all,” Mayor de Blasio said.
By Michael V. Cusenza
Starting Wednesday, Oct. 20, City employees will receive an extra $500 in their paycheck for receiving their first shot at a City-run vaccination site, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Wednesday morning. This benefit will end at 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 29, by which point City employees are required to have proof of at least one dose.
Unvaccinated employees will be placed on unpaid leave until they show proof of vaccination to their supervisor, de Blasio added.
“There is no greater privilege than serving the people of New York City, and that privilege comes with a responsibility to keep yourself and your community safe,” Hizzoner said. “We have led the way against COVID-19 – from fighting for the right to vaccinate frontline workers, to providing nation-leading incentives, to creating the Key to NYC mandate. As we continue our recovery for all of us, City workers have been a daily inspiration. Now is the time for them to show their city the path out of this pandemic once and for all.”
File Photoe
Seventy-one percent of the workers affected by this mandate have already received at least one vaccine dose, according to the City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi, M.D., signed a Commissioner’s Order on Wednesday to formalize the mandate, which will immediately apply to approximately 160,500 City workers. Seventy-one percent of the workers affected by this mandate have already received at least one vaccine dose.
Department of Education and New York City Health and Hospitals workers have been subject to vaccination mandates since late September; today, vaccination rates at DOE and H+H are 96 percent and 95 percent, respectively. The new mandate is effective on Nov. 1 to the entire municipal workforce, including all NYPD, FDNY, and DSNY employees. Civilian employees of the Department of Correction and uniformed members assigned to healthcare settings are also immediately subject to the mandate. Other uniformed members at DOC will be subject to mandate effective Dec. 1, as the City works to address the ongoing staffing situation on Rikers Island.
The City will begin impact bargaining with affected unions immediately, de Blasio noted.
“We encourage all our members to get vaccinated to protect themselves and their families. The proposed mandate must be collectively bargained and we expect City Hall to slow down and sit down with us,” DC 37 Executive Director Henry Garrido said.
