Philadelphia city employees and contractors must be fully vaccinated by January 14 of next year or they will be fired. Mayor Jim Kenney said public servants have a responsibility to protect fellow civilians from getting infected by COVID-19. NBC10’s Deanna Durante explains what the mandate entails and the exemptions that can be made.
What to Know
- Every city of Philadelphia worker must "complete a full schedule of COVID-19 vaccination(s)" by early 2022 or face losing their jobs.
- The city announced Friday that it would require every city worker -- including union workers -- to be vaccinated against the coronavirus by Jan. 14, 2022
- "As public servants, we bear a responsibility to mitigate the harm that would result from inadvertent transmission of COVID-19 to our colleagues and the public and to set an example for other organizations and companies," Mayor Jim Kenney said.
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Every person working for the city of Philadelphia must "complete a full schedule of COVID-19 vaccination(s)" by early 2022 or face losing their jobs.
The city announced Friday that it would require every city worker -- including union workers -- to be vaccinated by Jan. 14, 2022.
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"The City’s vaccination mandate will apply to all union represented City employees, regardless of location of work, including part-time, seasonal, and temporary City employees," a news release from Philadelphia said. "It will also apply to any embedded City contractor regardless of their location of work."
Police officers and firefighters would be covered by the mandate.
Those who don't get the coronavirus vaccine could be fired:
"City employees who fail to comply with this mandate will be considered unable to perform their duties, will be informed they may no longer report for work, and will be carried on unpaid status for no longer than 15 working days," the city said. "At the end of that period, if they have not started their schedule of vaccination, they will be separated from employment."
City workers can apply for vaccine exemption on religious or medical ground, the city said. "Employees granted an exemption from the vaccination requirements will be required to follow additional safety protocols, including routine testing," the city said. Here is info on exemptions from the city.
Previously, the city had mandated vaccines for health care workers and people in higher education, among others.
To be considered full vaccinated, a person must be two weeks out from the second dose of either the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines or the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, according to the CDC.
"As public servants, we bear a responsibility to mitigate the harm that would result from inadvertent transmission of COVID-19 to our colleagues and the public and to set an example for other organizations and companies," Mayor Jim Kenney said in a news release. "We owe it to our city—and to ourselves—to do all we can to keep us all safe."
Kenney noted that the battle to stop the coronavirus isn't over. "The safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines remain our best weapon in this ongoing struggle," the second-term Democrat said.
Philadelphia's police officer union is reviewing the vaccine mandate:
“Any vaccine mandate is subject to bargaining and this is specifically covered under our recent contract," FOP Lodge #5 President John McNesby said. "The FOP is going back before the contract arbitration panel, which has jurisdiction over any mandate.
"The FOP is conferring with counsel regarding potential litigation in local, state or federal courts."
The city is hoping a little Christmas bonus incentive will encourage vaccination ahead of the deadline. Workers proving full vaccine status by Dec. 24 -- including workers already vaccinated -- will get a $300 bonus. City contractors and people working fewer than 20 hours a week don't qualify.
