New York, NY – All city employees will now be required to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi signed the order on October 20, impacting some 160,500 municipal workers.
“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,” Mayo Bill de Blasio said in a statement.
The overwhelming majority of municipal workers have already received at least one vaccine dose. Department of Education [DOE] and New York City Health and Hospitals [H+H] workers have been subject to vaccination mandates since late September. Vaccination rates amongst workers at those agencies is well over 90-percent, according to the de Blasio administration.
The new vaccine mandate goes into effect November 1, and impacts all NYPD, FDNY, and DSNY employees. Civilian employees of the Department of Correction [DOC] and uniformed members assigned to healthcare settings are also subject to the requirement. Other uniformed members at DOC will be subject to mandate effective December 1.
Those municipal workers who have not yet been vaccinated are eligible for an extra $500 in their paycheck if they get their first shot by October 29. Many issues surrounding impact bargaining remain to be worked out between city and the unions representing affected workers.
New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, a regular critic of the mayor, welcomed the vaccination mandate.
“The administration has often lacked clarity, consistency, or courage in implementing the necessary policies to keep New Yorkers safe amid the ongoing pandemic; but the requirements announced today for all municipal employees are a welcome, crucial step,” he said. “We each owe it to one another to get vaccinated and protect ourselves and our neighbors, and the city owes it to New Yorkers to do all in its power to increase vaccination rates.”
