Allegheny County: All executive employees must be vaccinated by December

All employees working for the Allegheny County executive branch must be vaccinated against covid-19 by Dec. 1, county executive Rich Fitzgerald said on Wednesday.

“As we continue to see cases of covid in our county and different populations are affected than before, it is even more important that our workforce is protected so that the public we serve is also protected,” Fitzgerald said in a statement. .

Leaders in areas outside the executive will have the flexibility to decide whether their employees will be subject to the new policy. This includes the courts, the county council and other elected officials such as the comptroller, district attorney, sheriff and treasurer.

Employees in the executive branch have until December 1 to provide proof that they have received the Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine or both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna two-shot vaccine. Employees will not need two weeks to complete their vaccination schedule by December 1, but rather to provide proof that they have received the required doses by then.

Exceptions will be granted “as required by law,” officials said. Anyone without exception who has not provided proof of vaccination will be terminated as of December 2.

The announcement will affect about 25% of executive employees, as 75% have already been vaccinated, according to a county statement.

Fitzgerald announced in August that all new hires in the county would be required to show proof of vaccination, and current employees were offered a monetary incentive to do the same. Officials said more than 700 executive staff have been vaccinated since the announcement.

Allegheny County Comptroller Chelsa Wagner applauded the move.

“I thank County Manager Fitzgerald for his leadership in standardizing this scientific measure, which is very effective and reasonable for our workers, and I urge all employees in the county to comply as soon as possible, as I will for the employees. from my own office, ”she said. .

Fitzgerald said the county’s human resources and legal departments would deal with any issues that may arise with the tenure and collective agreements.

“The only thing we’ve seen week after week, month after month is how effective the vaccine is,” Fitzgerald said. “The best way to get back to normal is to get everyone vaccinated. “