CINCINNATI — City employees must get vaccinated against COVID-19 or provide a negative test every two weeks, according to a memo issued Wednesday.
City manager Paula Boggs Muething said the policy applies to all city employees as well as contractors working on city property: "After (Sept. 21, 2021), employees who remain unvaccinated or do not attest to vaccination status will be required to produce a negative COVID-19 test on a weekly basis," she wrote in Wednesday's memo. Negative test results cannot be more than 72 hours old when submitted.
Employees who do not comply with the policy or who test positive for COVID-19 will be sent home on leave using accrued paid time off or without pay, if no paid time off is available to them, the memo states.
As stated in a policy established in May 2021, facial coverings will remain optional but encouraged for vaccinated employees and will remain required for those who are unvaccinated or who do not report vaccination status.
"We have not signed off on anything," said Dan Hils, who leads the local Fraternal Order of Police.
Hils said the police union had entered into negotiations with the city but not been informed of any final policy.
"I'm shocked that the policy on such a senstive matter has been declared already," he said.
The city will hold three vaccination events for employees:
- Sept. 14, 7:30-10 a.m.: 801 Linn Street
- Sept. 16, 7:30-10 a.m.: 5651 Kellogg Avenue
- Sept. 21, 7:30-10 a.m.: 3101 Burnet Avenue
Read Boggs Muething's full memo here:
City of Cincinnati COVID-19 Vaccination Policy 9-21 by WCPO 9 News on Scribd
