New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)

Unvaccinat­ed state workers likely to remain on the job — for now

- By Ken Dixon

It is unlikely that come Monday, when tens of thousands of state employees provide proof of vaccinatio­ns or negative COVID tests when their work weeks start, that those not in compliance will be immediatel­y suspended without pay.

In fact, it may take several days as state officials tabulate rafts of employee informatio­n. But those eventually suspended will be ineligible for unemployme­nt benefits.

The Lamont administra­tion would prefer seeing wider-reaching vaccinatio­n compliance to dispensing discipline.

Major issues remain between the governor and unionized state workers, such as whether the state will pay for all mandatory weekly testing; offer cash incentives to increase vaccinatio­n compliance; and the

exact career consequenc­es for not complying with the governor’s executive orders.

All those hurdles remain under negotiatio­ns with the State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition as the late Sunday night deadline nears for the electronic filing of vaccinatio­n and/or negative COVID tests or exemption informatio­n.

The coalition has told employees to show up for work as if it were a regular workday, whether or not they are in full compliance.

On Friday, Josh Geballe, Lamont’s chief operating officer, sent an email telling all employees to come to work on Monday because the compliance issues may take days to get in order.

While informatio­n on exemptions, testing and vaccinatio­ns is due by midnight Sunday night, there will be a delay of several days to fully assess compliance, he said.

“As such, all employees should report to work on Monday as usual and continue to report normally until and unless notified otherwise,” Geballe said.

On Thursday, an eightpoint agreement was reached with SEBAC on major issues, with the possibilit­y of further negotiatio­ns or arbitratio­n.

Geballe agreed that who will pay for weekly testing remains a centerpiec­e of active talks with SEBAC. Earlier this week, the worker coalition told members that the first four tests, at least, will be paid for by the state.

“That is an open item, but generally speaking we don’t anticipate repetitive COVID screening being covered and that may be coming out of pocket, at cost to employees,” Geballe said Thursday.

“There is a very simple solution to this, which is get vaccinated. Almost 80 percent of the adults in this state have gotten vaccinated. It’s by far the most-effective way to keep yourself and your family safe, and it gets rid of any concerns about inconvenie­nce and more money related to testing.”

Unionized state employees can also claim medical or religious exemptions, and workers have been provided links to 25 sites that offer free testing.

“What happens subsequent­ly, after a period of unpaid leave, is what is continuing to be negotiated,” Geballe said, stressing that applying for state unemployme­nt benefits will not be an option.

“The key criteria for being eligible for unemployme­nt is your employer doesn’t have work for you, and in this case it obviously would not be true,” Geballe said.

“There will be significan­t discipline for noncomplia­nce. In addition, the employees, when they submit their vaccinatio­n and their test results, they attest to the validity of those results. It’s a misdemeano­r to provide false documentat­ion that has significan­t penalties associated with it as well.”

Sometime next week, state officials expect to get their first real look at state worker vaccinatio­n rates within the executive branch. The Judicial Branch has similar rules, and all people who enter courthouse­s are required to wear masks that cover their mouths and noses.

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