LA Employees Have Until Dec. 18 To Get COVID Vaccine
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) — The Los Angeles City Council Tuesday updated its mandate for city employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19, giving them until Dec. 18.
The deadline was originally last Wednesday.
Last week, Mayor Eric Garcetti said those who refuse to get vaccinated by Dec. 18 should be prepared to lose their job.
"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 on Oct. 20, after the new plan was submitted by the city administrative officer.
"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."
Through Dec. 18, unvaccinated employees have to submit to two COVID-19 tests per week, and $65 per test will be deducted from their paychecks.
According to data from the mayor's office on Oct. 19, 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.
Those seeking a religious or medical exemption will be required to take two tests per week at the employee's own expense while the city processes the exemption request. If an exemption is approved, the employee will be reimbursed for testing costs must be tested once a week.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. City News Service contributed to this report.)
