After failing to submit required COVID-19 test results or evidence of immunization on Wednesday, over 13 percent of government employees in North Carolina's second-largest county were suspended without pay.
More than 13 percent of employees is about to be suspended if they cannot prove they are vaccinated.
Employees Suspended For Refusing To Follow the New Rule
Mecklenburg County stated 598 employees, or 13.5 percent of all staff, would be suspended for refusing to obey pandemic guidelines. There were 290 full-time employees and 308 part-time or temporary employees among the non-compliant personnel. Among them were 128 Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services employees, 221 Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation Department employees, and 149 other county employees, per a recently published article in MSN News
Employees of the county library and Sheriff's office were included in the list of workers facing suspension due to administrative discrepancies, increasing the likelihood that the actual number is considerably higher. The suspensions began on Tuesday, according to Mecklenburg County Commissioner Chairman George Dunlap; but it was unclear how many workers had been suspended by Wednesday evening.
The county said in a statement that Mecklenburg County Employees who have not submitted a negative COVID-19 test and are unvaccinated within the previous seven days will be suspended beginning today and will continue on unpaid suspension until evidence of immunization or a negative COVID-19 test is verified, according to a published article in Newsweek.
Vaccination Rate in the County
Last week, county statistics revealed that the vaccination rate for full-time workers was approximately 70 percent. Part-time workers, on the other hand, trail considerably behind, with less than 40 percent having verified vaccination. The incidence was greatest among Mecklenburg County Health Department employees, where almost 85 percent were vaccinated.
The official statement of the county states: "With approximately 70 percent of all employees vaccinated, Mecklenburg County remains committed to providing a safe work environment for all employees, as a well as a safe experience for our customers. The county has enacted this process to meet the highest standard of COVID-19 prevention possible," according to a published article in OLXPraca.
The Requirement Takes Effect on Sept. 7
On September 7, the new criteria went into effect. In early August, amid a Delta variant-driven outbreak of the virus, County Manager Dena Diorio stated that county employees will soon be required to show evidence of vaccination or submit to weekly COVID-19 testing. In addition, everyone entering indoor public venues in the county is required to wear a mask.
The need for government employees to be vaccinated or tested is tougher at the county level than in Charlotte, the Mecklenburg County headquarters and North Carolina's biggest city. Officials in the city, where about 62 percent of government employees have gotten at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, have not imposed a vaccination requirement but are providing a $250 incentive to those who get vaccinated before the end of the month.
Needless to say, Pres. Joe Biden has already ordered vaccine mandate among the federal employees, contractors with business transactions to the government, and private businesses with more than 100 employees. The recent action of the Biden administration to combat the global pandemic was both embraced and criticized.
Related Article: Biden Requires All Private and Federal Employees To Get Vaccinated
