Unvaccinated City Of LA Workers 'Should Be Prepared To Lose Their Job,' Garcetti Says
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Municipal employees for the city of Los Angeles who refuse to get vaccinated against COVID-19 will likely lose their jobs, Mayor Eric Garcetti implied Wednesday.
In a statement, Garcetti said any city employee who refused to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by Dec. 18 "should be prepared to lose their job."
This came one day after a proposal was submitted to the L.A. City Council to extend the deadline by which city employees must provide proof of vaccination to Dec. 18. Wednesday had marked the initial deadline.
"The city's employee vaccine mandate is critical to protecting the health and safety of our workforce and the Angelenos we serve," the mayor said in a statement. "Employees must be vaccinated by December 18, and we are putting a rigorous testing program into place in the meantime. Let me be clear: Any employee who refuses to be vaccinated by this date should be prepared to lose their job."
Last month, city records showed that nearly 11% of L.A.'s over 57,400 city employees had stated their intent to seek a religious or medical exemption from this requirement. That included close to 3,000 LAPD employees.
RELATED: LA Sheriff Alex Villanueva Says Vaccine Mandate Won't Be Enforced
Until Dec. 18, according to the new proposal, unvaccinated employees would have to submit to two COVID-19 tests per week, and $65 per test would be deducted from their paychecks.
Employees would have to get tested during their free time, and testing would have to be conducted by the city or a vendor of the city's choosing. Third party tests would not be allowed.
According to data from the mayor's office Tuesday, 72.8% of city employees reported being fully or partially vaccinated. 17.9% either declined to state or did not report their status, and 9.2% reported they were not vaccinated.
The proposal also states that the employee would be able to either resign or retire "all in good standing in lieu of discipline" if they do not comply with the vaccination mandate.
The L.A. City Council has been aggressive with its vaccine mandates. Earlier this month, it approved a sweeping ordinance that will require proof of a COVID-19 vaccination to enter restaurants, bars, gyms, shopping centers and many other establishments.
That mandate is expected to take effect sometime after Nov. 6.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
