City of San Diego Requiring COVID-19 Vaccination for All Employees by November – NBC San Diego

The City of San Diego is now requiring all city employees to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 “as a condition of continued employment,” it said Thursday in a letter sent to all city employees.

The city said in the letter, it is now requiring the vaccine due to the ongoing COVID-19 public health crisis and in light of The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of the Pfizer vaccine this week.

The city said all employees, current and new hires, must be fully vaccinated and provide proof of full vaccination by completing the mandatory reporting of their vaccination status in SAP by Tuesday, Nov. 2, unless an alternative date is agreed to through “the meet and confer process, or an employee requests a medical or religious exemption and a reasonable accommodation is granted.”

In the letter, the city reminds employees that “fully vaccinated” means the city has documented that the employee received, at least 14 days prior, either the second dose in a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine series or a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine.

The city said it was not required to negotiate its decision to adopt the mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy with the six recognized employee organizations, such as AFSCME Local 127, DCAA, Local 145, MEA, POA and Teamsters Local 911, under state labor laws, but is required to negotiate over the impacts associated with the decision.

An employee can submit a reasonable accommodation request for a medical or religious exemption. The city will release more detailed information as the negotiations with the unions are complete.

Earlier this month, the city started requiring all employees to report their vaccination status saying those who remain unvaccinated are required to wear face coverings while in the workplace.

No other details were released.

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