New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
‘We have solid numbers’
6 percent of city workers not compliant with COVID vaccine or test policy
NEW HAVEN — About 94 percent of the 1,423 city employees covered by New Haven’s new policy requiring them to be vaccinated or submit to weekly COVID-19 testing were in compliance as of Monday, the day the policy officials took effect, city officials said.
“It’s going really well,” said Director of Health Maritza Bond.
The city, which previously said it would apply to about 2,000 employees, opened a new employee testing site at the New Haven Fire Academy off Ella T. Grasso Boulevard and had tested eight people as of early Monday afternoon, Bond said.
Public safety workers are being tested separately, she said.
As of Monday, the city had 1,331 employees registered for the program and 92, or 6 percent, unregistered, according to figures provided by Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Rebecca Bombero. Of those, 982 — 69 percent — were fully vaccinated and another 56 were partially vaccinated, with 282 employees
scheduled to be tested and another 11 scheduled for vaccination.
Individuals will not be considered out of compliance until the testing deadline on Thursday at 11:59 p.m., Bombero said.
“I think it’s important to underscore that overall we have solid numbers as far as the percentage of municipal employees who have gotten vaccinated,” said Mayor Justin Elicker. “Since we implemented this order, more people have gotten vaccinated.”
As of Monday, no enforcement had yet taken place, but “anything that does not comply” automatically will be referred to the city’s Human Resources Department, Bond said. “HR will contact department heads to see what the reason is” and whether the employee was on vacation, or some other circumstance, she said.
Corporation Counsel Patricia King said at the time Mayor Justin Elicker signed an executive order putting the policy in place that the city is looking for compliance, not to take disciplinary action.
Elicker repeated that Monday. “The goal is to get people vaccinated and to keep municipal employees (and the people they serve) safe,” he said.
“I think it’s most important for us to say that we are really working towards compliance,” King said at the time the executive order was issued. “We are not trying to use this mandate or the policy as a way of inflicting discipline on employees. We are all working toward the same goal of safety in the workplace and safety for our city constituents.”
Employees were required to upload their proof of vaccination between Sept. 7 through Sept. 14.
As of Sept. 21, 90 percent of the city’s employees had registered for New Haven’s vaccination tracking system, with 78 percent of them vaccinated, according to Elicker. The remaining 22 percent opted for weekly COVID-19 testing, he said.
“The high compliance rate of New Haven city employees, including the members of AFSCME Local 3144, speaks to our commitment to serving the public while making sure our workplaces are as safe and healthy as possible,” said Harold Brooks, president of Local 3144 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, which represents more than 400 city workers.
“We have maintained from the start of this process that we have an obligation to protect the rights of our members, whether they get vaccinated or get tested regularly,” Brooks said. “From a community health perspective, some of our union members have even suggested there be a testing requirement for everyone, vaccinated or not. That reflects our members’ concerns about COVID’s continued impact on community health.
“We are living in the age of what seems like an unending pandemic,” Brooks said. “As city employees we will continue to do everything we can to protect not only ourselves but the public we serve.”
The vaccine mandate applies only to municipal employees. It does not include 4,000 employees of the New Haven Public Schools system, who are covered by Gov. Ned Lamont’s previous executive order requiring public school teachers and workers to get vaccinated.
The order, however, applies to all city employees, including parttime employees, interns -— whether paid or unpaid -— seasonal employees and probationary employees, Elicker said. The city has created a vaccine and COVID-19 testing portal to keep track of the information.
Union officials, in a joint statement issued Sept. 1 said, “The hardworking ... employees impacted by Mayor Elicker’s mandate are the same workers who have been on the front lines of this pandemic for the past 18 months. Our members have put their own health at risk for the sake of the New Haven community.
“Our unions will continue to advocate safe working conditions for our members and the public we serve,” the statement said. “We will bargain the impacts of the Mayor’s vaccination mandate directive to make sure that the unsung heroes of this pandemic are treated in a safe, fair and consistent manner. We look forward to meeting with the Mayor and his representatives for further discussions. ”
Yale New Haven Health also has a policy requiring all of its nearly 30,000 employees to be vaccinated by a Sept. 30 deadline. As of Sept. 21, “a hair over 700” employees had not yet done so, according to Dr. Thomas Balcezak, chief clinical officer for the health system.
Yale New Haven Health officials did not immediately respond to a request for updated numbers on how many employees remained unvaccinated Monday.
The health system announced June 30 that all its employees, including casual staff, must be fully vaccinated or have a medical or religious exemption before Oct. 1, the beginning of the new fiscal year, or leave the health system.
Yale New Haven Health runs hospitals in Greenwich, Bridgeport, Milford, New London and in Westerly, R.I. in addition to two in New Haven.